If I Was Just a Little Braver
by SullenFool
Summary: A young Eevee with big dreams but a frail heart finds her precious treasure stolen by a gang of crooks. In order to retrieve her treasure and fulfill her dreams, she must conquer her fear and learn what bravery truly means. A Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers story. Reviews appreciated.
1. I want to be brave

**•   
Chapter 1**

**"I want to be brave..."**

It was a dark and stormy night. At least, it seemed a lot like it. It was actually midday, with the time barely reaching past noon. The skies, once as clear as crystal and blue as the ocean, was covered by an enormous layer of storm clouds. Following that, the usual soft, gentle breeze had intensified into a vicious squall, threatening to carry away anything that wasn't heavy enough to avoid its windy clutches. Finally, and worst of all, the bright golden sun, warm and calming, was replaced by an unceasing rainstorm. What would've been a wonderful day was transformed into an icy, windy and horrible nightmare.

I sprinted down the empty, rainy streets of Treasure Town. It's strange. Just a few hours ago, the entire town was loud and bustling. The streets were filled to the brim with lively cheer and happy activity. Now, it's just cold and lonely. Once the storm had reared its ugly head, everyone in town quickly packed and rushed for shelter.

The town was being ravaged by the storm. A lot of random objects were being picked up by the rampant winds. Stuff like wooden chairs, signs and even tables were flying around the streets, crashing into walls and knocking into other objects and flinging those off into the air too. It was a terrifying mess.

It took every single drop of willpower I had to push myself forward, step by step. Every second, with every single step I took, I felt like I was going to break down on the spot and start crying. Every nerve in my body was shouting at me, telling me to stop and hide. To give up on this foolish task and just go home.

But my gut refused. I wanted to cry, I wanted to run away and forget this entire thing. But... deep inside me, I knew I would never forgive myself if I just gave up. It was my cowardice that put myself in to this situation, it was all because of I just wasn't brave enough to defend myself..

* * *

"It's an Eevee! The footprint is a female Eevee's!"

Startled, the small fox-like creature leapt off the wooden grille she was standing on. The Eevee nervously searched for the source of the voice, looking to her left and right with a panicky look on her face. All she could see around her, however, was a pair of large, burning braziers, totem poles with the features of several different Pokémon carved into the wood, and a couple of dry-looking bushes. Everything else around her was the edge of a cliff and a breathtaking panoramic view of the early morning horizon.

However, most striking of all, was the massive tent that stood imposingly in front of her. The Eevee timidly looked up at the entrance of the tent. The top of the canvassed building was painted pink, and had two holes placed next to each other in such a way that it resembled a pair of eyes. Furthermore, several large strips of pink canvas were attached to the sides of the tent in such a fashion that it looked like arms and ears. Underneath the garishly pink top however, was an unfriendly-looking gate that was made out of thick dark wood.

The Eevee quivered as she stared at the tent. She slowly took a few steps back from the large gate and collapsed onto the dirt road.

"I...I guess I really couldn't do it..." She whimpered sadly, "Today...I thought today was my day..."

She removed the tiny bag that was slung around her body with her mouth and despondently pulled the flap open and took out what was inside.

"I even brought my precious treasure with me this time..."

In her hands was a small, odd-looking rock. From underneath, it looked like any other old mundane rock. However, the top of the rock was almost completely flat and smooth. The surface was extremely well-polished, almost glass-like in texture. What made the stone odd though was a series of strange, ornate patterns that adorned the smooth side of the rock.

The patterns were made up of a series of white colored swirls that coalesced into a tiny perfect circle in the center. Furthermore, a couple of large, block-like designs protruded out of the circle and stretched towards the edge of the rock, where they stopped just short of where the surface ends. It was a beautiful, yet mysterious work of art.

The Eevee sighed and gently laid her paw on top of her precious treasure. A small tear fell from her face and landed on the surface of the rock.

"I h-had hoped that..." She said, choking a little as she softly cried, "I was just a little braver..."

"Just a l-little bit of c-courage was all I wanted..." The Eevee said softly as she wiped the tear off the rock, "But...I'm just too much of a coward."

The Eevee scooped her little rock back into her bag and replaced it around her body. She took one more look at the tent's imposing entrance. She gulped and slowly got back onto her feet.

"I guess I'll come back tomorrow..." She mumbled despondently, "I don't want to give up..."

She wiped her face and silently walked away with her head hanging down.

"...meh, heh, heh..."

"...whoa, hoh, hoh..."

Two creepy laughs floated through the air as the Eevee exited the area. From behind one of the large braziers, two Pokémon came out from hiding. One was a small, blue bat-like creature. It perched itself on its partner, which looked somewhat like a very lumpy ball with had a skull tattooed on it.

"Meh, heh. Did'ja hear that Koffing?" Said the bat, "That little crybaby said that she had a precious treasure, didn't she? Meh, heh."

"Whoa, hoh, she did, Zubat." Koffing replied, smiling widely, "Whadd'ya say we go and find out what this treasure is? Hoh, hoh."

"You read my mind, meh, heh, heh..."

"Whoa, hoh, hoh..."

The two Pokémon grinned mischievously and silently floated off toward the crying Eevee.

* * *

I quickly skidded to a stop when I saw them. I recognized the two immediately, the one that looked like a tiny, flapping bat and his partner that resembled a beach ball that was left outside for far too long. The two of them looked like they were arguing with each other on the beach. The beach ball had my bag slung around his...head and was trying to float toward the town while the bat had grabbed onto the strap with his mouth and was trying to flap towards the other direction.

"Meh, heh, heh! I'm telling you! We should go this way and hide in the Beach Cave until it all blows over!" The bat shouted at his partner. An amazing feat, considering that he was also pulling the bag with his mouth.

"And I'm telling you," The beach ball shouted in response, "that we should go back to the boss! The boss'll be annoyed if we're gone for too long, hoh, hoh!"

"I don't wanna get blasted away by the wind while trying to go back!"

"And I don't wanna get yelled at by the boss!"

They kept tugging at my bag even though the storm was raging around them. I flinched as a large wave crashed against the beach, spraying me with sea foam and water. When I reopened my eyes, the two of them were still there and still arguing over the bag. They didn't even realize I was standing right here, watching them struggle.

I wanted to just run up and snatch my bag back. My precious treasure was inside it, after all. But as I imagined myself moving forward, my body hesitated. I felt my insides turn ice cold as fear overtook my senses. I tried to move, but it felt like my legs had become as heavy as concrete pillars.

I cursed my cowardice. Right in front of me were the two baddies that stole my precious treasure, and I couldn't even muster the courage to confront them. I grit my teeth and tried to dredge up as much bravery as I could, but it was as if my entire reservoir of courage had run dry. I wanted to move, I wanted to retrieve my treasure, but...

"I'm just too much of a coward... If I was just a little braver..."

Suddenly, everything vanished. A spontaneous white flash of light wiped everything away from my vision. I quickly closed my eyes, but the searing brightness still shone through my eyelids.

"Whoa, ho, hooooooo?!"

"Meeeeh?!"

"Eeek!"

We all screamed at the same time as the unexpected flash hit. Then, right as I was recovering from the light, an earsplitting sound exploded around us. It was as if hundreds of Voltorb and Electrode exploded at the same time! The sound was so deafening, I nearly fainted on the spot.

When I recovered from the shock, the first thing I saw was the thieving pair lying on the ground, groaning in pain. Between the two of them was my bag, the strap was torn into two pieces. They must have ended up tearing it apart during the chaos.

I gasped when I saw that the flap on my bag had fluttered open. My precious treasure had flown out and was half buried in the wet sand.

'Now's my chance', I thought, 'The two of them were still dazed from the explosion and unable to move. If I can run over there and snag my items now, I can get away without any trouble!'

I shakily stood up on my legs, pulling myself out of the beach. Shakily, I psyched myself up to make a dash over to the fallen items. I ducked my head down and kicked off the sand.

"Yeee-aaaah!"

I tripped. I yelped as my entire body flipped forwards into the air. I spun forward, screaming incoherently, and crashed back down onto the sand, face first.

"Ouch!"

I tried to pull myself out of the wet sand, but it was futile. My aching and freezing body immediately collapsed back onto the sand, and would move no more. All my fear, combined with all the running I did earlier must've finally caught up with me. My heart began to beat rapidly as I glanced up ahead. My bag and my treasure were right there, almost within reach!

'Just a little more,' I prayed, 'just a little more and I can do this!'

"Uuuurgh..."

My heart froze for a second when I heard a moaning noise from beside me. My eyes darted to my right. The gassy beach ball had begun to stir! I desperately tried to move, but my body was still as stiff as a board.

"Whoa...ho...ho..." He had a dazed, confused look on his face as he began to slowly levitate back up into the air. He turned around a few times, trying to get his bearings straight before his eyes locked directly on my prone body. A sickening smirk appeared on his face when he finally managed to refocus his thoughts.

"Well if it isn't the crybaby from town! I didn't think you had the guts to come chasing after us in this storm, whoa, ho, ho!"

I gave him the angriest glare I could muster, but he simply chortled and ignored me. He floated over to his still-unconscious partner and nudged him awake.

"Hey Zubat! Wake up and take a look at who decided to show up!" The gas ball said in a jovial tone.

"Meeeeh...heh?"

Zubat, finally roused and awake, awkwardly flapped his wings to fly back up into the air. He looked around to find out what his partner was talking about, before his gaze finally settled on my limp body.

"Meh, heh, heh! You're right, Koffing!" He said after making a shrill, annoying - sounding laugh, "It's the little wimp! What's the matter little Eevee? Too scared to move?"

"Aaa..ghh.." I tried to respond, but my mouth only made weird, gurgling noises at them. The two of them began to laugh nastily at my helplessness.

"Looks like you're still just a big coward, meh, heh, heh." Zubat said, mockingly, "Don't worry though, we'll take good care of your treasure for you! Meh, heh, heh!"

He swooped down and snagged my treasure with his teeth. With a swift flick of his mouth, he flung it into the air and it landed on Koffing, where it balanced precariously on the top of his head. Zubat then began to move away, towards the other side of the beach.

"We're going to hide in the cave, Koffing." Zubat shouted bluntly, "I don't care if the boss gets mad at us, I don't wanna get fried by that lightning!"

"Whoa, hoh, hoh!" Koffing chortled, "But what do we do with wimpy limpy here?"

Zubat turned and glanced at me. He sneered.

"Just leave her there, I'm sure someone will find her eventually."

"Cruel to the bone, Zubat. Whoa, hoh, hoh!"

"W-wait...!" I cried out, but my words fell on deaf ears. The two of them had already turned their backs and left for the other side of the beach. I desperately tried to move, but my body refused to budge even an inch.

To add insult to injury, another large wave came crashing down on the beach right then, spraying me with freezing seawater. I shivered as I felt a long, slimy strand of seaweed slip over my body as the wave receded.

Thankfully, I was just high enough on the beach to avoid being dragged away into the ocean by the waves. But that thought gave me little consolation as I laid on the wet beach, moaning and trembling from the cold.

With nothing I could do, and no one around to help me, I could feel nothing but despair. I closed my eyes and began to cry.

Eventually, I cried myself to unconsciousness...

* * *

I do not know how many hours had passed before I finally woke up. My body was aching, freezing, and above all else, tired. I shivered as I shakily got back on my feet and shook the seawater off my fur. I looked around to see if anything had happened since I fell asleep.

The storm had passed. The dark, thunderous clouds had finally parted, revealing the long-awaited sun. The entire beach was enveloped in a beautiful shade of orange as the sun slowly moved below the ocean. The rough sea was now calm and serene, a picturesque carpet of blue that stretched out into the horizon.

Everything around me was covered in debris and other refuse from the ocean. Piles of seaweed, chunks of driftwood and the occasional glass bottle littered the sand, making the once pristine beach look like a soggy garbage dump.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a few red creatures scuttling out of their hidey-holes and cautiously peeking around the rocky outcroppings that surrounded the beach. The Krabby, once they were sure that the danger had passed, began to fill up the cliffside in droves. Then, once they were all in place, every single Krabby turned to face the ocean.

One by one, the Krabby began to blow small, glistering bubbles out of their mouths. The bubbles floated towards the sun, reflecting the orange rays off their glistening forms onto the ocean and the beach. Soon, the entire beach was filled with hundreds of beautiful, marble-like bubbles floating in the air, shining rainbow colored lights all over the ocean.

"Wow..." It was a breathtaking sight. I watched as the flickering lights dance all over the ocean, making the water sparkle like a field of jewels. All the little nooks and crannies around the rocky beach was now brightly lit by the reflecting lights. Even the beach, with all it's junk and garbage lying around, looked absolutely magnificent during this spectacle.

I walked over to the edge of the ocean. The water gently splashed against my feet as I looked down into the sea at my reflection. I looked like a mess. My eyes were puffy and red from crying all day, my fur was matted and wet and a few strands of seaweed was draped around my neck like a bad scarf. I shook off the seaweed and tried to clean up my fur as much as I could, but the saltiness of the seawater prevented me from using my tongue.

I watched the bubbles float lazily towards the sun as I sat on the sand. I let the sun's warmth slowly melt the icy feeling inside me while the rolling waves caressed my sore legs. I could feel my prior sadness slowly fading away as I watched this relaxing scene. For the first time in hours, I felt my face curl up into a smile.

"It's so beautiful," I mumbled contentedly to myself. I moved my head slightly to try and make it more comfortable, I saw my bag lying in the distance. It was half submerged in the seawater, desperately hanging on to an upright piece of driftwood that was stuck in the sand. Its now useless straps were flapping in the wind like a pair of tiny wings.

I got up from my comfortable spot and walked over to my bag. The flap was open and all that was left inside was a few berries. Of course, my precious treasure was still missing. A pang of regret struck me as I stared sadly at the empty bag. Sadness and frustration washed over me as I pulled the bag off the piece of wood.

"If there's one thing I wish," I said to nobody as I stared out into the ocean, "I wish I could become...just a little braver."

"I'm tired of being a coward. I'm tired of crying and feeling bad for myself whenever I get scared. I want to...I want to be stronger, I want to be brave."

"Maybe it's impossible for me." I chuckled mirthlessly at my words.

"But...I don't want to give up."

I looked inside my bag and pulled out a small, white object. It was an old, broken badge. One side of the badge was completely shattered into pieces, and the jewel that was set in the center was missing. I held it up into sky, letting it reflect the sunlight off it's shiny surface.

"One day, I want to become an Explorer." I felt tears escaping my eyes again as I gazed longingly at the old badge, "I want to wear a badge like this, and call myself a real Explorer..."

I laughed humorlessly and let the badge slip from my paws. It landed in the sand, where it glowed dully in the sunset. I hung my head down and sobbed silently to myself. I knew, in my heart, that no matter how much I try to cheer myself up, I would always be too afraid, too scared to follow my dreams. What happened today was proof of that.

Angry at myself, I picked up the badge again and threw it as hard as I could towards the ocean. It sparkled in the sunlight as it traveled through the air before eventually disappearing into the sea with a tiny splash. I panted as I stared at where the badge had vanished. I reached into my bag again and pulled out an Oran Berry and prepared to toss it as well.

But then, something caught my attention. A small blue Pokémon was floating out in the ocean, near where my badge landed. It looked unconscious and was clinging desperately on a piece of driftwood. From where I was standing, I couldn't quite make out what kind of Pokémon it was.

Maybe it was because sense of worry overwrote my fear, because I suddenly found myself halfway in the middle of the ocean, paddling as hard as I could to reach the unconscious Pokémon. After a few seconds of frantic splashing, I reached the piece of driftwood that it was hanging on to. I took a quick cursory look at the Pokémon. It wasn't anyone I recognized from Treasure Town.

I couldn't quite tell if it was a boy or a girl. It was blue, and had a black mask-like marking that covered its face. It had a long snout and a pair of pointy ears. It was clutching onto the driftwood with two long arms, which had strange white bumps on the backs of them. The rest of its body was underwater, so I couldn't tell quite well what it looked like.

I shook my head. This isn't the time to be ogling. I wedged myself between the piece of driftwood and the Pokémon and transferred its grip onto my body. It was surprisingly light. As a result, I managed to paddle the both of us back to shore safely with little difficulty.

When I reached solid land, I quickly laid the Pokémon down in a dry part of the beach. I placed my head against its chest, trying to hear its heartbeat. To my great relief, it was still beating. It sounded slow and weak, but it was there. I quickly ran over to my bag and dragged it over with my mouth. I really wish those two didn't tear the strap, it was a little frustrating to have to pull it everywhere like this. I reached inside and withdrew the Oran Berry from earlier and held it in my mouth.

I glanced around the unconscious Pokémon's body, trying to figure out where its mouth was. With my paw, I pushed up its nose.

"Aha!" Finding its mouth, I opened it and shoved the berry inside. All it did, however, was give the Pokémon a chubby-looking face. Feeling foolish, I realized there was no way it would be able to chew while asleep. I opened its mouth again and retrieved the berry.

"Um..." I racked my brain as to how to do this correctly. Suddenly, I had a bright idea!

"Hold on, okay? I'll be right back." I assured the unconscious Pokémon and ran off.

I looked around the beach, searching for anything I could use. I pulled apart piles of debris and seaweed all over the beach. Then, lying there sparkling in the sand, I found one.

"Yes!" I pulled the small glass bottle out of the sand. Luckily, it was still in one piece. I peered into the mouth and found that it was nice and empty. Taking the Oran Berry, I placed it on top of the bottle's tiny mouth and squeezed as hard hard as I can. My efforts were rewarded when the purple juice from the berry began to flow into the glass bottle.

When the berry was completely squeezed dry, I carefully picked up the bottle with my teeth and brought it back to the unconscious Pokémon.

"Okay, here goes nothing..." I cradled the Pokémon's head carefully and placed the bottle against its mouth. I tilted the bottle so the juice would flow out of the bottle. I could see the juice slowly draining from the bottle.

Once the entire bottle was empty, I placed it into my bag and worriedly watched for any movement from the Pokémon.

After a few heart pounding minutes, the Pokémon began to cough. Seawater and Oran Berry juice flew out of its mouth as it gasped for air.

"Urrgh..."

I felt a wave of relief wash over me as the Pokémon slowly sat up. It opened its eyes, revealing a pair of bright red pupils. It looked around with a dazed expression on its face.

"W...where...?" It said. Its voice sounded shaky, but it was undoubtedly the voice of a male, "Where am I...?"

"H-hello! Are you feeling okay?" I quickly replied, feeling a little shy and foolish. He turned around and faced me, staring at me with his crimson red eyes.

"I'm okay...I think." He said, shaking his head a little, "Who are you?"

"I'm..." I replied. I paused for a second. Should I give him my name? I don't even know who he is. But, as I looked at him, I felt a strange emotion inside of me. Maybe, I thought, maybe I could trust him with something important like my name.

I raised up a paw to my chest and sincerely stated, "I'm.. Fée."

"Fée... Fée..." He repeated my name a few times, as if he was trying to memorize it.

"Um... if you don't mind me asking..." I said, snapping him out of his trance, "who are you?"

He deliberated for a moment, closing his eyes and turning away from me as if he was deep in thought. After a few seconds of silence, he shook his head and faced me again.

"I don't know... do you know who I am?"


	2. How about, Blue?

**•   
Chapter 2**

**"How about... Blue?"**

I stared blankly at my new companion. The first thought that went through my head was that he was making a joke, albeit a strange one. But one look at the expression on his face brushed that thought away under the rug. He was staring at me with a serious, almost expectant look. Feeling put on the spot, I shuffled my feet nervously and replied.

"What do you mean by that?"

His serious expression was replaced by a look of disappointment. A sudden sense of guilt washed over me as I saw that look.

"I-I'm sorry, I wish I could give you a better answer..." I hung my head down sadly, a little ashamed at my uselessness.

"No...it's alright. It's not your fault." He said. I pulled my head up and saw that the disappointed look on his black-striped face was replaced by a small smile. He thumped his chest with his paw and laughed.

"In fact, I should be the one apologizing," He said, jokingly, "We've just met, and I'm already demanding answers from you."

"Ehh...?" I was taken aback by how forthcoming he was. It was a little surprising, considering that he was just unconscious a few minutes ago.

"It's strange." I heard him mumble to himself, "I can't seem to remember anything from before you woke me up."

He made a grumbling noise and cocked his head to the side, looking like he was confused and annoyed at the same time. It was such a strange looking sight that I couldn't help but giggle a bit.

"Oh, sorry." He quickly raised up his paws apologetically, "Did I offend you?"

"N-no that's not it!" Unintentionally, I found myself mimicking his action. The two of us ended up with our paws up in the air and facing each other.

"Hehehe..."

"Hahaha..."

Suddenly, the two of us began to laugh. Maybe it was because of how just how awkward we were being or how ridiculous we looked, but the two of us just started laughing and laughing. The two of us flopped onto the sand, big smiles plastered on our faces like clowns.

We kept laughing for a few minutes. I was a feeling happier, much happier than before. Despite how strange he was, or how weird the atmosphere became, I felt like I've made a new friend. I rolled over onto my belly and tried to pull myself back up, but a sudden wave of giggles prevented that.

"Oof!" I tripped over my own feet and flopped back on the soft sand, still giggling uncontrollably. Embarrassed, I blushed bright red. I tried to get back up again, only to fall down onto the sand again.

"Here, let me help." My new friend reached out and grasped my paws. His grip was firm, but gentle. He helped me back onto my feet and then let go. Feeling self-conscious, I drew back and pretended to dust the sand off my fur when I was actually trying to hide the luminescent blush that was slowly creeping onto my face. After getting all the stray grains of sand off my ruff, I shyly looked up at his face.

I expected him to be smiling at me, maybe even laughing a little, but what I saw was nothing like that. Instead of a smile, he was grimacing. He was gritting his teeth tightly, and his eyes were tightly shut. He looked like he was in severe pain, his entire body was doubled over and twitching uneasily.

"Guu..aaaghh!" Suddenly, he let loose an unearthly roar and fell onto his knees. I watched in horror as his hands shot up and clutched the sides of his head, grabbing his fur violently as if he was going to tear it out.

"H-hey...-are you alright?" I was terrified, and I wanted to run away. But the sight of him suffering like that, to be in such pain prevented me from running away. I wanted help, but my panicking mind couldn't come up with any ideas. I anxiously swung my head around, desperately trying to find something – anything that could be of any use.

But then, he suddenly stopped moving. I watched as his arms suddenly dropped to his sides, loosing his grip on his head. Then, his body began to collapse and fall forward like a puppet with its strings cut.

"Watch out!" I shouted as I rushed towards him, placing myself underneath his falling body before he hit the ground. However, his body was heavier than I expected and the both of us ended up face down in the shore anyway.

"Geh!" I spat sand out of my mouth and shook my head. I craned my head around to see if my friend was okay. I sighed in relief as I saw that he was uninjured from the fall. Unfortunately, his body was still draped over mine like a heavy blanket, making it difficult for me to move. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't muster the strength required to untangle myself from underneath him.

"Ooogh..." I heard a mumbling noise from somewhere above me, "What...-what happened?"

"Are you okay now?" I asked, craning my head back again to look at him in the eye, "You kinda went...weird earlier."

"I...what?" He sounded dazed, as if he had just woken up. He shook his head and looked around him confusingly. He looked down at me, who was still pinned underneath him in a fairly awkward position.

It took an uncomfortable few seconds before he suddenly realized what he was lying on. He gave a short yelp and pulled himself off as fast as he could.

"I'm sorry," He said, shaking his head so fast that it looked like a blur, "I didn't mean to lay on you like that – wait no, I mean, I didn't – uh – gah!"

"Um, you don't have worry about me right now." I replied, a little amused by how frantic he was being. I got up and dusted the sand off my body and smiled at him, "Are you fine now? That's what I'm worried about."

He stumbled back a few paces before stopping to compose himself. He placed a paw on his chest and breathed deeply, trying to catch his breath. After a moment, he sighed and replied.

"Yeah, I think I'm fine now." He said to my relief, "Sorry for making you worry like that.

"It's alright if you're fine now." Truth be told, I was still a little surprised at his sudden change in attitude earlier, but he looked like he was back to normal now. I decided to quietly hide my discomfort and smile back at him.

"Do you – um, do you know what happened?" I said hesitatingly. Despite that even being, well, terrifying, I was still fairly curious about the reason behind that. He frowned and crossed his arms, his eyes closed as he tried to recall the events.

"I don't actually know. Everything happened so fast," He said, "when I touched you earlier, my vision suddenly blacked out."

"Blacked out?"

"Yeah. Everything just... vanished all of a sudden."

I didn't fully understand what he meant by that, but I nodded anyway so he'd continue.

"A few seconds afterward, a bright flash of light suddenly exploded from within the blackness," He illustrated the event by swinging his arms out widely, trying to show an explosion, "and it came with it a painful headache." He added on as he tapped his head.

"When the light and pain went away, I found myself on the shore again." He gestured towards the beach, "But...it was different."

"Different? How?"

"The sun." He glanced over at the setting sun in the distance, "It wasn't there. Instead, there were storm clouds covering up the entire sky. And there was a lot of rain too, just torrents and torrents of rain crashing down."

I shuddered involuntarily. His description was eerily similar to the weather earlier today. Curious, I kept my mouth shut and patiently waited for him to continue his story.

"And on the beach I saw..." He suddenly trailed off and stared directly at me. I tilted my head questioningly.

"And? What did you see next?"

He didn't respond. Instead, he suddenly turned around and glanced at the other end of the beach. I craned my neck around him and tried to see what he was looking at.

The beach itself was pretty small, with only one way down from the town and was surrounded by a series of tall, craggy cliffs. The other side of the beach held a dead end, but it held an interesting feature. At the end of the beach lied a large crack that stretched down the center of the cliff wall.

I've heard from the townspeople that beyond the crack was a massive cavern, and that the cavern was inhabited by many dangerous Pokémon, as well as having a ton of unsafe passages that lead to dead ends and even traps.

Naturally, being a coward, I've never even dared to get anywhere close to that cave.

"Who's in that cave?" I was jolted out of my thoughts by his sudden question.

"I've heard that there's nothing really interesting in there." I lied. The coward within me wanted him to drop the subject of the cave as fast as possible. I don't even know why he brought it up anyway, "Un-unless you like seeing rocks and sand, I guess."

He turned around and stared at me. I felt the temperature rise on my face again as his eyes bored into me. I quickly looked away, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible, which was proving difficult considering that my face was becoming redder by the second.

"No. That wasn't what I was asking." The seriousness of his voice pierced me. I felt my heart beat faster and faster as he continued, "Is there anyone inside there right now?"

Instantly, images of those two bullies filled my mind. Koffing and Zubat, the two mean Pokémon who stole my precious treasure. I remembered that the two of them were probably still hiding in the cave, since I've never actually seen them come outside.

Did he know about them? If so, then how? There was no way he could've been able to see us in the storm, much less mile away from shore and unconscious at that. Did this have something to do with his headache earlier? Was he planning on entering the cave if I answered his question?!

"Well?" I was suddenly snapped out of my wild thoughts by the sound of his voice, "Is there anyone in there right now?"

"Mmh..." It's not like I didn't want to answer his question, but the thought of entering the cave...and meeting the bullies again prevented me from saying anything. Inwardly, I was still pretty afraid of those two bullies. I didn't want to meet the pair of them again, and the thought of seeing them again made cold fear surge through my body.

My friend sighed at my silence. I felt my ears droop down when I heard the disappointment in his voice.

"Is..." My voice was tiny, almost inaudible as I started to speak, "Is there any reason why you ask?

I didn't receive a response. Instead, he just turned away and faced the cave entrance. Then, he took a step forwards. Then another, and another, and another.

What was he thinking?

Was he going to enter the cave?!

Why!?

Panicked thoughts raced through my head as I watched his back slowly shrink farther and farther into the distance. After a moment, he stopped in his tracks. He paused for a moment, then he turned around. Even in the far distance, I could still see his two bright red eyes. He extended his right arm towards me and made a beckoning motion.

He wanted me to follow him.

"W-what?!" I heard myself shout out of the blue, "Why?"

Of course, he was already quite a distance away and couldn't actually hear my incredulous outburst.

I didn't know what to do. The coward inside of me wanted to stay rooted where I was. The prospect of entering such a dark and scary cave was making my insides turn ice cold. My imagination started to run wild, conjuring up all sorts of terrifying thoughts of what could be inside the cave. Dangerous traps, bottomless pits, scary Pokémon...

However, as I sat there, embroiled in fear and self-loathing, I saw my friend stand in front of the cave, still watching me intently with his arm outstretched. As I looked into his eyes, I felt a slight tinge of envy. I wanted to be brave like him. But, here I was, sitting on the sand with my body paralyzed with fear at just the thought of what could be inside the cave.

"Come on Fée! Let's go get your precious treasure back!"

The sound of crashing waves, swaying trees and the cries of distant birds suddenly vanished. The only sound I heard was his shout. I gaped at him, desperately trying to process what he said as fast as I could. He had no fear on his face at all, instead, he wore an expression of determination and confidence.

"Don't be afraid!"

I barely knew this Pokémon for more than an hour, and yet, his voice was slowly melting away the fear that surrounded my heart. A small spark of warmth flared up within my chest, filling my body with an emotion I couldn't quite recognize.

"Fée!"

Then, it clicked. The warmth I felt, the emotion that is filling my body now...

...It was courage.

I closed my eyes and saw inside me, a glowing flame that resided within my heart. It wasn't much, but it felt incredible. The cowardly side of me still screamed, desperately begging me to stay away from the cave, but my new growing strength slowly drowned it out.

"So, are you coming or not?"

I put on the bravest face I could muster, and stepped forward.

* * *

The Beach Cave wasn't originally a cave in the past. In fact, the reason it even became a cave in the first place was by a complete accident that involved a particularly energetic Dugtrio and an earthquake. Originally, the cave was but a small, underwater grotto that existed underneath the cliffs that surrounded the beach. Worn away by time, sand, and the ocean waves, the grotto eventually grew larger and larger until it became a veritable maze of rock, sand, and seawater.

Once the grotto was revealed to the world, Pokémon of all kinds began to inhabit it. Water types, grass types, and even the odd rock type moved into the new cave, calling it their home. Furthermore, the vast network of mysterious tunnels and passages that made up the cave brought curious explorers to plumb its depths for adventure and the possibility of treasure.

Fée and her friend had entered the Beach Cave through the entrance, and were now slowly making their way into the labyrinthine depths. Visibility was limited, as their only sources of light they had were from the occasional beam of sunlight that entered through holes in the rocky ceiling. Long, sand-colored stalactites hung menacingly from the ceiling, hovering over similarly shaped stalagmites protruding from the ground. Seawater dripped from the ceiling at regular intervals, creating an unsettling ambiance around the pair.

The two of them huddled close together as they moved through the dim cave. Fée in particular stuck closely to her friend out of fear of being left alone in the darkness.

Fée shuddered as she walked through the trudged through the dim tunnels, quietly trying to keep her wits about her as she ventured deeper and deeper. In comparison, her partner showed absolutely no signs of fear at all. He walked straight ahead at a steady pace, only stopping every once in a while to scout out the route ahead or to avoid tripping over a stray stalagmite.

"S-so what should I call you?" Fée suddenly asked out of the blue, "I don't actually...know what your name is yet."

"My...name?" Her partner stopped and turned around. A brooding look appeared on his face as he thought about the question, "I actually don't remember what my name is, to be honest with you."

"Oh... right." Fée replied sheepishly, "You said something like that earlier, didn't you?"

"Yeah. Even now, I still can't recall anything." He shrugged, "It's getting a little annoying actually."

"Hm, how about I give you a name?" Fée said, an idea suddenly sparking in her head, "At least until you remember your real name."

"I don't mind." Fée saw him nod in the dim light, "Don't give me something embarrassing though."

"Hehe, I'll try." The Eevee pondered for a second to think of a good name for her friend. She stared at him, trying to glean some sort of inspiration off of him. After a moment of deliberation, Fée revealed her idea.

"How about...'Blue?'"

"'Blue?'" Her partner replied questioningly, "Why Blue?"

"Well, your body is mainly blue colored, and it's a pretty easy name to remember." Fée reasoned, "It sounds better than Black, I think."

"I suppose..." He said, sounding a little disappointed, "As long as you don't call me Black n' Blue, I guess I don't mind."

Fée giggled happily as her partner gave a little shrug. The mood now lightened, the newly-named Blue and Fée resumed their sojourn in the damp cave.

After a few minutes of wandering around in the darkness, they found the walls around them widening slightly, giving the two of them more room to walk through. The ground, however, became progressively damper as they continued deeper into the cave. Eventually, the floor was completely covered by a thin layer of water. Now, every footstep the pair took was now accompanied by loud splashing noises as they stepped through the wet floor.

Anxiously, Fée glanced around them as they walked. Their trip through the Beach Cave had been uneventful thus far (of which she was quite thankful for), but with every step they took, Fée felt more and more uncomfortable with her surroundings. Out of the corner her eye, she thought she spotted something move in the darkness. Gulping nervously, she tugged on her partner's hooked tail to make him stop.

"Hey, Blue?" Fée whispered, her eyes darting around them, "Do – do you see anything around us?"

"Yeah." Blue said bluntly as he stopped in his tracks. He pointed up, towards the dark ceiling above them. "They've been following us for a while."

Fée looked at where he was pointing, and immediately regretted it. Numerous pairs of glowing eyes were staring down on them, watching every move they took.

"Eeeek!" She let loose a loud shriek that echoed around the cave. Upon doing so, the ceiling began to be filled with movement. Clattering and skittering noises filled their tunnel as the darkness on the ceiling began to shift. Blue, sensing danger, immediately grabbed Fée by the waist and picked her up.

"Hang on!" He shouted as he began to sprint forwards as fast as he could. From behind them, Fée saw the glowing eyes drop from the ceiling, hitting the floor with wet splashing noises. Soon afterward, the creatures began to scuttle towards them, filling the air with a multitude of creepy skittering noises as they ran through the tunnel with alacrity.

The scuttling sounds grew louder and louder as the creatures drew closer to them. Blue, despite running as fast as he could, found traversing the increasingly deepening water was becoming more and more difficult. Not to mention the added weight of carrying Fée under his arm. Gritting his teeth, refused to give up and strained his muscles to run faster.

"T-they're getting closer!" Fée screamed in a panicked voice. Hundreds of those creatures were chasing down the dark tunnel, their scuttling noises combined to make a sound frighteningly similar to that of an ocean wave.

Eventually, the cave walls gave away to a large, atrium-like chamber. The rocky ceiling had collapsed in the center, allowing a bright beam of sunlight to shine straight down into the atrium, brightening up the surroundings considerably.

Blue, seeing the light, put on another burst of speed and charged into the bright chamber. In doing so, however, he tripped on a small stalagmite hidden beneath the knee-deep water and accidentally let go of Fée.

"Whoa!" Blue shouted in surprise as he suddenly found himself facing the water. Fée was sent flying into the air before also hitting the floor in a wet splash.

Gasping, Blue quickly pulled his head out of the water. He quickly glanced around the wide chamber, panicking and searching for his missing companion. To his relief, he found Fée lying in the water beside him, looking a little dazed and scared.

"Fée, are you alright?" Blue quickly waded over to where she lied. Fée shakily stood back up and shook off the water that coated her fur before turning to face him.

"I-I'm fine, I'm just a little shaken up."

Blue nodded at her, relieved that she was unscathed. However, his relief was short lived as the tunnel behind them began to rumble dangerously. The scuttling noises began to quickly fill the chamber as the creatures closed in on the pair.

"Shoot!" Blue, realizing that there was no way for them get away in this situation, quickly put himself between Fée and the rapidly approaching creatures.

In less than a second, the tunnel exploded with a veritable flood of activity. Hundreds of small, brown-shelled creatures burst from the tunnel and began to surround the pair with incredible speed. Their small black bodies were covered by a large, rock-like brown shell. A pair of eerie, glowing eyes protruded from the front of their bodies. Finally, four golden claw-like legs extended from underneath them, making noisy clacking sounds as they moved around the rocky walls and floor.

"It's a horde of Kabuto!" Blue heard Fée shout from behind him. He didn't know what a Kabuto was, nor did he really care. He watched the creatures scurry around them intensely, not loosening his guard for a second.

Suddenly, all motion stopped as the last Kabuto skittered into the room. Now, the atrium was filled to the brim with the brown-shelled Pokémon. Creepily, the Kabuto all moved at the same time, rotating their circular-shaped bodies to face the center of the chamber, where Fée and Blue stood. Their eyes, red and unblinking, were fixated on the pair.

"W-what do they want?" Fée whispered in a timid voice. Blue, still in a fighting stance, shook his head and glared angrily at the horde of Kabuto.

"Whatever it is they want, it's not friendly."

As if they were agreeing with Blue's words, the horde suddenly began to rapidly clack their tiny claws together, creating an incredibly noisy din that echoed around the chamber. Blue and Fée quickly covered their ears with their paws, trying to drown out the maddeningly loud sound.

Upon seeing that, the horde struck. Waves upon waves of Kabuto rushed forward, encircling themselves around the pair.

"Fée!"

"Blue!"

Blue quickly grabbed onto Fée's paw and leapt upwards. He quickly glanced down at the chaos underneath them. Kabuto crashed against Kabuto, creating a mess of claws and shells. Quashing the idea of how devastating it would've been if he was just one second slower, Blue quickly adjusted himself in midair and landed on one of the Kabuto's shells.

"Fée!" Blue shouted as the Kabuto began to angrily thrash about, trying to throw him off its back, "Whatever you do, don't let go!"

"Eek!" Fée grabbed tightly onto Blue's torso, clinging onto him for dear life. Blue slung one arm around her in order to keep her steady and began to hop across the horde of Kabuto shells, one by one.

The Kabuto horde, suddenly realizing that their prey was somehow above them now, attempted to crawl over each other to try and reach the pair. Unfortunately, for the Kabuto, every attempt they tried to strike at Blue only resulted in them receiving a sharp kick in the face.

Blue quickly looked around them for any stable footing that wasn't made out of a shell. He noticed a large ledge hanging over the atrium, directly ahead and above them. After punting away another frisky Kabuto, he began to slowly make his way over to the ledge.

Fortunately for the two, the Kabuto lacked the means to coordinate together long enough to shake them off. Furthermore, the sheer amount of Kabuto that currently resided in the chamber actually prevented them from being able to move, as their shells took up too much space in the atrium, preventing many a Kabuto from being able to even move. In their frustration, the Kabuto began to clack their little claws angrily at Blue as he used their shells as footholds.

Eventually, Blue managed to navigate their way over to the ledge. Blue detached himself from Fée's grasp and reached up, transferring her onto the ledge, wherein she quickly backed into the tunnel and hid behind the nearest stalagmite, quivering in fear. Blue quickly clambered up the outcropping to follow her.

"Agh!" Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his left leg. Blue looked down from his current position and saw that one of the Kabuto had somehow managed to break out from the stuck crowd and rigidly attached itself to his leg by means of its golden claws. Wncing in pain, Blue quickly pulled himself up the ledge, bringing the little rocky Pokémon in tow.

Once he was on solid footing, he swung his leg into the air, trying to dislodge the little shellfish Pokémon, but it obstinately stayed on. Blue reached down and gasped the Kabuto by the sides of its brown shell.

"Ghh!" Blue grunted painfully as he tried to pull the Kabuto off his leg. The creature clamped down even tighter in response.

"Blue!" Fée shouted, running out from behind the stalagmite and towards him.

"No! Stay back!"

The Kabuto's red eyes glowed sinisterly as Fée neared them. When the Eevee was close enough, it detached itself from Blue's leg and skittered towards her. Fée screamed as the Kabuto leapt towards her, its tiny golden claws glinted in the dim light.

"No!" Ignoring the searing pain coming from his leg, Blue forced himself to get up as fast as he could and launched himself at the Kabuto. He reached out his arms in an effort to grab the shellfish before it injured Fée.

Luckily, right in the nick of time, he managed to just barely grab onto the sides of the Kabuto's shell, inches before they reached Fée's face. Roaring loudly, he swung the Kabuto away from his partner and threw it as far as he could. The Kabuto, its feet flailing around wildly, sailed through the air before striking the ceiling of the cave with a loud _crunch._

Panting heavily, Blue watched the Kabuto cautiously as it fell to the floor, twitching disturbingly. Only when the Kabuto finally stopped twitching did he let down his guard. He sighed in relief as he fell to the ground. His leg was screaming in pain, but he ignored it. He quickly turned over to his partner beside him, who was frozen in place like a statue.

"Anyone home?" Blue waved his arm in front of Fée's stunned face, "Helloooo? Fée?"

"Eeeee..." A strange noise escaped from Fée's mouth. It sounded like a cross between a whimper and a whine. Suddenly, she sprung forwards, tackling Blue and grabbing onto him in a tight hug. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed into his shoulder. Blue, a little stunned, consoled her by gently patting her back.


	3. Don't call yourself a coward!

**•   
Chapter 3 **

**"Don't call yourself a coward!"  
**

"Are you feeling better now?"

I sniffled as I climbed out of Blue's arms. I felt ashamed and angry at myself for breaking down in tears again, despite telling myself to be brave before. Was I just lying to myself? Was that feeling of bravery just a mistake?

"Y-...yeah..." I mumbled as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

"That's good." Blue gave a sigh of relief and smiled at me. I tried to return his smile, but found that I couldn't really bring myself to do so. I laid down on the rocky floor, clinging to my self-loathing, ignoring the fact that Blue was watching.

"Hey...Blue?" I muttered quietly while staring at the floor, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

"Why did you decide to come in here?"

"Hm?" He sounded confused, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, why are you helping me?" I clarified, "We just met, and we barely even know each other."

"You even got hurt trying to protect me." I nervously glanced at his left leg. The Kabuto that had clamped on to his leg earlier had left four reddish scars on his leg. Blue probably sensed my gaze, as he quickly shifted his left leg out of sight.

"It doesn't really hurt that much," He said spiritedly, but I could hear the pain in his voice as he tried to hide his injury, "You don't have to worry about it at all."

"It's okay Blue," I said, covering my head under my paws, "you don't have to go along with this anymore. My...rock isn't worth hurting yourself to get it back. Not for a coward like me."

I felt a wave of disgust wash through me as I choked out that sentence. Did I really mean to say that? I could feel the flame of courage inside my flicker and wane as I continued to send myself deeper into a pit self-depreciation.

"Let's...let's just give up."

Blue fell silent. For a while, the only sounds around us were the sound of water dripping in the distance and the occasional scrabbling noise from the Kabuto stuck back in the watery chamber. The longer the silence went on, the greater my unease became. I wondered, did I anger him? Offend him? Or did I just disappoint him? Regardless, I knew that I had definitely betrayed his expectations with my cowardice.

"You're wrong, Fée." I felt a sudden pat on my back, followed by a thumping noise. I tentatively raised my head and saw that Blue had sat down next to me. He patted me on the back once more and looked directly in my eyes.

"What do you mean?" I asked, a little bewildered by his response.

"First, I think I should apologize to you – again." He said while scratching the back of his head, "I didn't really give you much of a choice back there. I just dragged you in here without even asking you. I wasn't thinking about your feelings."

"And, I guess I didn't really give you much of an explanation before setting off, huh?"

"No...no you didn't." I accidentally mumbled out loud. He gave a little dry chuckle before continuing.

"When I had that strange headache back on the beach, I told you I somehow ended up on a rainy beach, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did." I recalled the strange experience earlier, "You didn't really explain what happened though."

"I know, and I'm sorry." He sighed loudly, as if he was regretting what he did earlier, "Back on that rainy beach, I didn't really understand what was happening. Even though the sky was pouring rain, I was still dry as a whistle, and I couldn't even feel the winds blow against me. It was...strange. To say the least."

"When I looked around the beach, I found something that confused me even more."

"What was it?" I asked, growing more and more curious at his story.

"It was you." He stated firmly, jabbing a finger at me.

"–huh?" I was, understandably, even more confused now.

"Well, to be exact, it was you and two other Pokémon I didn't know." He used his finger to trace some shapes in the sand on the cave floor, "They looked like a strange, bloated looking balloon and a –"

"A bat?" I said, accidentally interrupting him. He nodded and finished his sketch. Even in the dim light of the cave, I could recognize what he drew.

"Koffing and Zubat..." I said, staring at his drawing.

"Is that what they're called?"

I looked up at him and nodded.

"I see. That makes things a little easier, I was probably going to call the fat one gasbag if you didn't tell me that."

He grinned at me as he drew a silly mustache on Koffing's sketch. Despite myself, I felt a giggle escape my mouth as I watched him continue to deface their portraits.

"Anyway, I watched from a distance as they argued with each other over a bag that looked way too girly for them." I blushed when I heard that, thinking back to my bag, "Then, everything faded white."

"When my vision returned, I saw you on the ground. The two of the – Koffing and Zubat – were hovering over you and spewing out all sorts of nonsense at you."

I gulped as I recalled that scene. The insults the two bullies called me, they didn't feel like nonsense to me at the time.

"At that time, I got mad." He quickly said, cutting off my recollection, "So I ran over and tried to slug the gasbag in the dumb face."

"But, it didn't work." He muttered with a grimace on his face as he scribbled all over Koffing's portrait on the ground, "When I threw a punch, my fist just flew through his body, like he wasn't even there."

"No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't do anything to the two of them. I could only stand and watch, unable to stop them from stealing your treasure and running away."

He slammed the ground with his fist, scattering sand and pebbles into the air. When he lifted his arm, the drawing of Koffing had transformed into a small crater. I could hear the Kabuto in the distance clamoring when they heard the noise. Blue noticed it too and quickly turned to me.

"It's not safe here. Let's move to somewhere farther away." He whispered urgently, trying to keep his voice as low as possible to keep the Kabuto from hearing us.

I nodded. Even I knew how dangerous it would be if we stayed here for any longer. But, as we prepared to leave, Blue suddenly grunted and knelt. He clutched his injured leg painfully.

"It's okay, I'm – I'm fine." He gritted his teeth and lied. He tried to stand up again, but the injures on his left leg only got worse as he tried to move it. He gasped and nearly fell over again. I quickly rushed over and supported him before he fell over. He gave me a small, but pained looking smile as I let him lean against me.

"Blue..." I couldn't believe how much pain he was putting himself through just to help me. Even when I wanted to just let it go, he still wanted to help me. I felt ashamed at myself again, but for a different reason this time.

"Fée," Blue said as we slowly moved forward, "I know you're scared, and I'm sorry for not noticing that earlier."

"Before I woke up from my strange vision, the last thing I saw was your crying face." He frowned as he continued his recollection, "I felt... horrible inside, seeing you cry like that. I felt like it was my fault that I couldn't prevent you from being hurt."

"Blue...it's not your fault..." I replied, turning away from Blue and hanging my head down "If it was anyone's fault, it's mine. It was my fault for being such a coward."

As I finished saying that, I felt a sharp bonk on my head. Surprised, I quickly turned to face Blue. He had an angry look on his face, and his arm was hovering over my head.

"Don't call yourself a coward!" He chided me angrily.

"It's the truth though!" I stammered back, matching his angry tone with my own, "I'm a coward! I'm weak!"

"Fée, you're much stronger than you think." He said, his voice softening a bit, "I might not know the whole story, but I know for a fact that you, Fée, had the courage to confront the two of them."

"So what? They still got away! The same thing would've happened even if I wasn't there! It wouldn't have made a difference!"

My emotions were in a fever pitch now. I was angry at Blue. I didn't want him to deny that I was a coward. It felt like everything he said was a lie.

Then, at the same time, a feeling of disgust flooded my body. Did I want him to say I was weak? That I couldn't have done anything anyway? I didn't understand my own emotions, and all I could do was keep yelling at my friend.

"It did make a difference." He said in an infuriatingly calm voice.

"Tell me then! What difference did I make by being there?"

"You saved my life."

When I heard that, it was like someone had suddenly pulled a drain inside me. I felt my rising anger rapidly ebb away. I stared at Blue with my mouth open, thinking about what to say, but my mind was wiped blank along with my anger.

"I might not remember anything before I woke up, but there's one thing I'm certain about."

He suddenly stopped walking and separated himself from me. I turned around and looked at him. Even though we were surrounded by the darkness of the cave, far, far away from the bright chamber behind us, I could see his face as if it was bright as day inside. He had on his face a bright, sincere smile.

"It's that this brave, strong hero standing next to me right now had saved my life."

I didn't know how to respond. I wanted to refute him, and say that he was wrong. That there was no way anyone could call me a hero, much less a brave one. But, one look at his face, his genuine smile, immediately melted away all of my self-hating thoughts.

* * *

What was I truly afraid of?

I thought back to earlier today, to when I first woke up. I remember holding my treasure, hoping that it would grant me enough confidence to help me fulfill my dream.

My dream... I had a dream. I wanted to become an Explorer, didn't I?

I looked down at my paw. In my mind, I imagined the broken badge I had so callously thrown away earlier. I was mad, mad at myself for being such a coward. If I had just a little more courage, would I have been able to grasp my dream? No. This whole time, I've been making excuses for myself.

Every time I stood in front of the Guild's entrance... and when I tried to confront the bullies...I always backed off when it became difficult. I blamed my cowardice instead of trying to overcome it. I've always asked for bravery, but I never strived for it. I've always ran away instead of confronting it.

I thought about Blue. I didn't understand him at first. I didn't understand why he wanted to enter the Beach Cave, and I couldn't understand why he wanted to keep going even after he got injured. I didn't understand why he would do all of this for someone he just met. Everything he did felt foreign and confusing to me.

But now, I understand. Blue didn't need a reason. He was simply following what his heart told him. When he had that vision of me and the bullies, he had made the decision to help me, no matter what. Even when I said we should give up, he refused to back down. Even when he was injured, he still wanted to keep going.

Now, I know. Courage will never come to me as long as I kept running and hiding. If I keep trying to justify myself as a coward, I will always be a coward. If...if I really want to be brave, I have to be like Blue. I have to swallow my fears and keep moving. Even if the going gets rough, I cannot just give up and stop.

I'll keep moving forwards. I'll keep this flame of courage alive, and I'll never call myself a coward again.

"...Blue."

"Yeah?"

"I – I want to keep going."

Slowly, I walked back to Blue's side. I looked up at him, my face filled with new-found determination. Wordlessly, he smiled at me and held out his paw. I grasped it with my own.

"I'm sorry." I said, trying to make amends, "I'm sorry for being angry and for, well, being a co–"

Suddenly, he tugged on my arm and pulled me into a firm hug, interrupting me from saying that word.

"It's alright." He said in a reassuring voice, "You don't have to say it."

* * *

After our little incident, we continued to explore the Beach Cave together. Blue's leg was still injured, so I was supporting him as we walked through the dark tunnels. For a while, he kept trying to convince me that his leg was fine, and that I didn't need to act as his crutch anymore. But, every time he let go of me, he either wobbles in place or falls over. After the third time he nearly face-planted into the ground, he just wordlessly accepted my help and stopped asking.

It wasn't an easy task. The dark tunnels were rarely straight paths, and the ground became more and more rugged the farther in we walked. Oftentimes we found our progress slowed to a crawl thanks to the ground becoming uneven and difficult to walk on. And even more frustrating was when the path splits into two or more, and the path we chose takes us to a dead end.

The terrain wasn't the only danger we had to face too. Every once in a while, we felt dangerous and unseen presences around us, not unlike the Kabuto from before. That was usually sign that we should hurry up and get moving, as, with Blue's injury, we didn't have many ways to fight off any attackers.

Every once in a while, we came across large, open chambers like before. Without any hordes of wild Pokémon chasing us, we used these places as much-welcomed resting points. The sound of gently flowing water and the sight of sunlight was usually enough to make us rush towards it as fast as we could.

Eventually, I found myself enjoying the journey more and more. I was still scared of what lied inside the cave, of anything that could've jumped us from within the shadows, or anything that was hiding just beyond that turn in the tunnels. But, as long as I stood by my partner, I realized that I had nothing to be afraid of. Just him being beside me was a comforting presence.

Now, with every tunnel we explore, and every path we take, I no longer felt crippling fear. Instead, I felt excitement run through my body like an electric shock.

"So...this is what exploring feels like..." I said to myself while we rested in another large rest chamber. A few hours had passed since we escaped from the Kabuto earlier, and we were feeling a little tired from our expedition.

"Hm?" Blue looked up from his leg. It was slowly getting better, and he could walk on it now. Albeit a little clumsily, "Did you say something?"

"I was just thinking out loud." I replied, "I was just a little surprised that I would be having this much fun while wandering around a scary cave like this."

I stretched out in the middle of the chamber, allowing the last remaining rays of the sun to warm me up. Night was about to fall soon, and once that happens, the chambers we've used as resting zones will be just as dark as the tunnels we've walked through.

"Hey, Blue?" I turned around and watched Blue wash his leg under one of the small waterfalls in the chamber, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

"What will you do once we're done here?"

"What do you mean?"

I pondered for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to phrase my question. Now that I think about it, Blue was still a complete enigma. I found him floating in the ocean, and when I rescued him, he had no memory. Did he have a family? Was he a part of an exploration that went wrong? All these questions swam around in my head, each more curious than the last.

"Well, what I mean is –mffggh!"

Suddenly, Blue's arm shot out and covered my mouth, silencing me immediately. I mumbled in protest, but Blue put one finger up to his mouth and made a shushing noise. He let go of my face and cupped his paws around his ear, as if trying to hear something.

"...fault..."

My ears perked up. There was definitely a strange, unfamiliar sound coming from the distance somewhere. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the foreign sound.

"...hoh hoh..."

"...you idiot...!"

When I opened my eyes, I saw Blue standing up. We both shared a knowing look and began to slowly move towards the owners of the sounds.

We climbed on to one of the ledges that surrounded our chamber and found a large hole in the wall that connected to another, but smaller, chamber below it. From our vantage point, we peered through the hole and found our targets.

"We're gonna be stuck here all night now!" Zubat shouted as he smacked his partner over the head with his wing, "And it's all your fault!"

"Woah, hoh, hoh! I warned you about hiding in here, Zubs!" With surprising speed, considering his size, Koffing dodged Zubat's attack and hovered lazily away. "Now we can't leave here until the Kabuto go to sleep. And I've never seen them sleep before! Woah, hoh, hoh!"

"That's not funny, you idiot!" The bat-like Pokémon screeched, "If we can't get out of here, then what was the point of going in this deep in the first place?!"

"You were the one who woke the Kabuto with your screeches, not I! Woah, hoh, hoh!" Koffing chuckled as he deftly avoided another wing attack from Zubat, "If you hadn't started shouting, then they never would've started to attack us!"

"And if you weren't being such an idiot with that rock, then I wouldn't have had to yell at you!"

"You try balancing that brat's rock without arms, it's pretty hard!"

"I don't have arms!"

"Whaddya know? Neither do I! Woah, hoh, hoh!"

We watched as the two butted heads against each other for a few minutes before drawing back into our chamber.

"That's them." Blue said matter-of-factly, "Do you see your treasure anywhere?"

"Yeah," I craned over and peeked back out towards them, "It's lying on the ground between them."

"Okay then." Blue straightened up and cracked his knuckles. I gave him a quizzical look, wondering what he was planning.

"Blue, you're not thinking of taking them on by yourself, are you?"

"It's just an ugly balloon and a tiny bat, what do I have to be afraid of?" He said cheekily while giving me a thumbs up, "Besides, my leg's feeling better. I'm sure I can take care of this, no sweat."

"W–wait!" I shouted at him, but he was already gone. He leapt through the hole and into their chamber. I watched in horrified silence as he landed between the two bullies without as much as a single word to any of them. He bent down and picked up my treasure while Zubat and Koffing were still stunned by his sudden appearance.

"W–w–who the heck are you?!" Zubat was the first to recover from the shock. He flapped angrily as Blue examined my treasure. He gave Zubat a dismissive glance and began to walk back towards the entrance to the chamber.

"Don't ignore me!" Zubat, now probably steaming in anger, screeched at Blue and began to dive at him with incredible speed. Blue, however, simply spun around on one leg – his good leg – and avoided Zubat's speedy attack.

When Zubat realized that he had missed, he quickly stopped and turned around to try another attempt. But Blue was quicker on the draw, and had flung my treasure directly into Zubat's face right as he turned around.

"Guaagh!" Zubat cried out in pain as the rock slammed right into his body, knocking him right out of the air. Blue calmly walked over and caught the rock as it rebounded off Zubat's face. He ignored Zubat, who was flailing around on the ground in pain, and began to walk away again.

"K–Koffing!" Zubat, his voice cracking from the pain, screamed at his partner, "Hurry up and stop him!"

Blue spun around as soon as he heard Zubat screech. Koffing, who was simply floating in the air earlier and chuckling to himself, had launched himself into a full-body tackle at Blue. Noxious fumes were spewing out of his many holes as he zoomed through the air.

"Woah, hoh, hooooh!" Koffing chortled as he flew towards Blue. Blue quickly threw up his arms in a defensive pose, preparing himself for the inevitable impact.

"Too slow!" Koffing suddenly made an instantaneous stop in midair and opened his gaping mouth wide. The noxious balloon suddenly shrunk as plumes and plumes of toxic smog came billowing out of his maw, right through Blue's guard.

I could hear Blue cough painfully as he inhaled the poisonous gas. From behind Koffing, Zubat had recovered and was flapping his wings wildly, spreading the gas around the room. Eventually, the gas coming out of Koffing's mouth began to fill up their chamber more and more. I found my vision of the battle disappear when the brown gasses completely covered the air.

"Meh, heh, heh!" I heard Zubat's annoying laugh through the smoke, "How do you like our Gust and Poison Smog special?"

"Woah, hoh, hoh! Too bad this only works in caves like this, hoh!"

"Stop talking and start spewing more gas!"

"Grrgh...!"

I couldn't see, and I knew that jumping in now would be an incredibly foolish idea, but I couldn't just leave Blue in there to suffer. I paced around my hole in a panic, desperately trying to think up a plan to save Blue.

"It's rare to see a Riolu around there parts, eh?" I heard Zubat say through the smoke, "I heard Riolu are supposed to be strong and fast! Why not drop the rock and join us, eh? I'll even forgive you for the rock and put in a good word for you with the boss."

"Hoh, hoh! You're so generous, Zubat!"

"You – cough – wish!"

I heard a smacking noise. Zubat must've hit Blue with his wing for talking back.

"You're an idiot!" Zubat screeched, "Then tell me, why are you here? You looked like you had a plan in mind, stealing our ro..."

"Zubat?"

"Don't tell me..." Zubat's voice became incredibly low and sinister sounding, "Did that Eevee – that brat – set you up for this?"

"Cough, cough..."

"Oh my, she did! Meh, heh, heh, heh!"

"Woah, hoh, hoh!"

I felt my blood run cold when he said that. What was he going to do now that he realized that it was my fault? I worriedly peered through the hole again, but a quick whiff of the noxious smog forced my head back, making me retch painfully.

"Is she here? In this cave, right now?" Zubat demanded, "Koffing, go find that Eevee! Find her and bring her here so we can show her what happens when someone tries to mess with us!"

"Woah, hoh, hoh. Aye, aye, Zubat!"

"W – wait!" Blue sputtered, but was quickly silenced by another smacking noise.

The smog began to slowly dissipate as Koffing began to search around for me. Terrified, I hid behind the wall and tried to make myself as inconspicuous as possible. Unfortunately, the leftover smog had reached the hole and was starting to spill into this chamber as well. I couldn't hold my breath for long, and after a few minutes, I had no choice but to take a breath.

"Gack, cough, cough!" I choked loudly as the disgusting fumes entered my mouth.

"Zubat, I heard her! She's beyond the wall!" My blood ran cold when I heard Koffing's announcement. I quickly covered my mouth, but it was too late. Within seconds, I saw a spherical silhouette float into view from beyond the hole in the wall.

I really had no choice now. I braced myself for the inevitable.

"Found you!" Koffing chortled gleefully as he floated through the hole, wreathed in gas like a filthy shawl, "Woah, hoh, hoh!"

"Open wide!" He opened his mouth and prepared to unleash another torrent of disgusting gas at me. But I had other plans. Gathering up all my strength, I leapt off the ground and threw myself towards Koffing. I saw his eyes widen the split second before I crashed into him, sending the both of us through the wall and tumbling into the second chamber.

"What?!" I heard Zubat screech as we crash-landed in the chamber with a heavy thump. Luckily, I landed on top of Koffing instead of the other way around, allowing me to quickly get up and go over to Blue's side.

"Blue! Are you alright?" I shouted worriedly. The smog, although lightened considerably, was still thick enough that I was choking with every word.

"Fée – cough – get out of here–!" He choked as he tried to speak. I squinted through the disgusting fog at Blue. He was kneeling on the ground, clutching his throat while coughing. His arms and torso had a few thin bruises from when Zubat struck him. I quickly turned around and put myself between Blue and the two bullies.

"Uuurgh..." Koffing slowly floated back up into the air, his eyes dazed from the fall and impact.

"You idiot! How could you let yourself be sneak attacked like that?"

"Woah...huh?" Koffing looked around, confused and unfocused. Zubat struck him over the head with his wing, which only served to make him look even more confused.

"Geehh!" Zubat spat in anger and turned to face us, "So you've decided to grow a backbone and chase after us, eh?"

I kept silent, trying to hold my breath for as long as possible until the smog completely vanishes. Zubat, on the other hand, continued his angry tirade.

"You even brought a little friend with you, huh? You knew you were too much of a coward to do it yourself, so you had to find someone to do it for you. How pathetic! Meh, heh, heh!"

Even though I knew these words were only there to intimidate me, his words still pierced me like thorns. I turned my head away and tried to block out his jeers, but he flew down next to me and spoke directly into my ear.

"And where did that take you? Nowhere! Your plan failed, coward!"

I gritted my teeth and tried to swipe at Zubat, but he saw it coming and simply swooped away, dodging my strike easily. He sniggered in midair, flapping just out of reach.

"Who said the plan failed?" Suddenly, I heard Blue's voice from behind me. He was struggling to get back up on his feet, but, despite the strain, his face was still displaying a confident grin. He clutched my treasure tightly in his right hand, which he raised up into the air to show everyone.

"We still got what we came for, didn't we, Fée?"

"Y–yeah!" I responded as confidently as I could. However, I was still feeling uneasy about the situation. Even if we had retrieved my treasure, we were still in a really bad place to be in.

And they knew it.

"Feh. So what?" Zubat sneered, completely dismissing Blue's boast, "We just have to knock you out and get it back. Right, Koffing?"

"Woah, hoh, hoh, of course!"

With that said, the two of them began to laugh evilly as they floated higher and higher. Zubat positioned himself behind Koffing with his wings outstretched. Koffing, however, retracted the holed nubs that dotted all over his body and closed his mouth. Slowly, his body began to expand in size, growing larger and larger by the second.

"Blue, what do we do?" I said in a quavery voice, "At this rate, they're going to fill the room with gas again!"

Blue stared up at the floating pair with a steely gaze. He pulled me close and whispered into my ear.

"Don't worry. I have a plan." He declared, "But, I need you to distract them for a second."

"A–are you sure?"

He nodded and let me go. I gulped and strode forward, placing myself directly in between Blue and the pair. I looked up at Koffing. He was almost triple his original size now. Small wisps of noxious gas was starting to spill out of his mouth. It was a terrifying sight, to say the least.

"S-stop!" I weakly shouted.

"It's too late!" Zubat screeched merrily as he poked his head over Koffing's expanding body, "You're going to be blown away by our great explosive smog attack!"

He then dove behind Koffing and started to flap his wings as hard as he could, whipping up gusts of wind at me and Blue. I stood my ground, however, and continued to shout futilely at them.

Then, Koffing opened his mouth. Inside, I saw nothing but a raging storm of poisonous, brown gas. Slowly, the deadly toxin crawled out of Koffing's mouth and was picked up by the gusts of wind created by Zubat. The gas transmogrified into a brown tendril that snaked its way towards me like a predator. Even before it reached me, I could smell the deadly stench emanating from it. I nearly fainted on the spot.

"Spew on this, you stupid beach ball!" But then, Blue's loud shout rang out through the entire chamber. Suddenly, a gray blur came whizzing through the air, blowing apart the poisonous tentacle and striking dead center into Koffing's mouth.

"Geeeh?!" Zubat shouted in surprise as the heavy rock struck the back of Koffing's mouth, knocking him backwards and – more importantly, forced him down on to the ground in shock. In his surprise, Koffing's mouth shut as the rock clattered around inside his head.

"Mrghppgh?!" Koffing's eyes bulged out as the gasses – now without an exit – raged angrily inside his body.

"Gaaah! What did you do?!" Zubat stopped his frantic flapping and shouted at us, "Koffing you numbskull, why didn't you release the smog faster?! Hurry up and open your mouth again!"

I sat there, dumbfounded at what just happened. It took me a moment to realized that I was this close to taking a faceful of that vile, disgusting concoction that came from within that beach ball's body. Inwardly, I felt revolted, and I nearly retched at the thought of it.

"Fée!" I was jolted out of my revulsion by Blue's shout, "Don't let him open his mouth again! Hit them now!"

Shaking off my nausea, I nodded back at him and crouched down. I watched Zubat try and force Koffing's mouth open with his wings, but the rock that was undoubtedly clattering around inside his head was causing him too much pain for him to open his mouth. Slowly, the two of them drifted ever lower. Then, once Koffing's body had floated low enough...

"Noooow!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I kicked off the ground and threw myself towards them as hard as I could. Everything around me suddenly turned into a blur as I tore through the air, but it didn't matter. All I needed to see was what was in front of me!

That massive purple target!

I felt my head crash against Koffing's gut, directly on to the skull and crossbones. Everything felt like it was in slow motion afterward. His body undulated and squished in, making me feel like I had smashed myself into a stinky, disgusting pillow. It felt like an eternity.

"Meeaaaagh!"

"Woaaaaagh!"

Then, as if time suddenly restarted, Koffing was suddenly launched away from me at a ridiculous speed. His body crashed into Zubat, who was floating behind him before, and carried him along for the ride. The two of them went zooming away from us, flying towards the opposite end of the chamber. Then a loud, booming crash rang out through the chamber, followed by a massive explosion of dust and silt.

I fell on to the ground, skidding forwards for a few inches. When I finally stopped, I dazedly rose up and looked around. My jaw dropped when I saw what happened at the other end of the chamber.

"I...uh..." I was completely stunned, dumbfounded even. Koffing and Zubat weren't just knocked back, they had flown directly into the cavern wall and deeply embedded themselves within it. I gaped at the unbelievable scene before a sudden whistle snapped me out of it.

"That was incredible!" Blue walked up beside me and stared at the groaning pair in the wall, "I can't believe you just did that!"

"I...I can't believe it either..." I said as Blue walked past me. He bent down and picked up something from the ground.

"It really came in handy in the end, He said in a jovial voice as he showed me what was in his hands, "your treasure, that is."

He placed it on the ground in front of me. I took one look at it and immediately screamed in horror. My precious treasure was lying on the ground, completely covered in Koffing's disgusting sludge. Worse still, it was emanating the worst stench I've ever smelled in my entire life.

"Y – y – y..." I spluttered in disbelief, my eyes bulging at the sight of my treasure in such a disgusting state.

He threw my treasure! He threw it into that disgusting gasbag's mouth as if it was a rock! I was so infuriated and disgusted that I was at a loss for words. I could only stare at Blue with the most revolted expression I could muster.

"Uh...sorry," he muttered, now realizing the gravity of what he did, "I didn't have much of a choice! There wasn't anything else around me I could use as a projectile! I asked you to buy me time was so I could find something else to thr- ow, ow, ow!"

I rounded upon him and started pounding his chest as hard as I could with my paws. I was mad, angry, _furious_ at him!

"Ow! Fée! Stop!" He pleaded as I continued hit him, "I'm already injured! Ow!"

After a minute or two of heated pummeling, I backed off and sat down to catch my breath. Blue groaned as he picked himself up from the ground, rubbing his chest gingerly. He had an apologetic look on his face, but at the same time, he also grinned at me. I couldn't help but return his smile.

"We did it," The reality of the situation had finally dawned on me, "we beat them."

"Are you still scared, Fée?" Blue sat down next to me and patted me on the head.

"Just a little."

Blue grinned at me and I smiled back at him.

"So, what do we do with those two?" Blue said, pointing at the pair stuck in the wall.

Koffing's eyes were spinning in their sockets, while Zubat was still pinned between Koffing's body and the rock wall behind them. Without any help, those two looked like they wouldn't be able to escape for a while.

"Maybe we should just leave them there for someone else to find." Blue mused, an evil smirk crossed his face as he did so. I shook my head.

"I think we should help them out."

"Hm?" Blue sounded a little surprised, "You want to help them? After all they did to you?"

"Yeah...I know what you mean..." I replied quietly, "But if we just leave them there, wouldn't that make us just as bad as they are?"

"Hrm..." Blue pondered the thought, "I guess you have a point. It feels weird to help out our enemies though. Oh well."

In the end, he shrugged and started to walk towards the immobile pair.

"Ggghh..." I heard Zubat groan as he came to, "What...what happened?"

He tried to flap his wings, but found that he couldn't move. After a moment, he realized where he was.

"Aaagh! Koffing, you big lummox!" He screeched. I was impressed that he could still make such a shrill sound even when he was being squished like that, "Get off of me! You're crushing me!"

"Woaaah..." A dazed sound came from Koffing's mouth, "Zuuubs..."

"Geeeh!" Zubat shrieked as he futilely tried to slap Koffing over the head with his wing, "Hurry up and get it together!"

"Zuuubaaaat... I can't... I can't..."

"You can't? What do you mean you can't?! Just move, you giant gasbag!"

"Nnnnnooooo..." Koffing drawled, his voice sounding more and more strained as he tried to talk, "I mean...I can't...hold it in...anymore...!"

"W...wait, what are you...?!"

Suddenly, Koffing's body started to glow with a dim white light. The holes that surrounded his head started to pop out of his body with a sharp popping noise, and his body began to expand in size once more.

"Koffing! Stop! Don't explo–!" Zubat tried to shout, but his panicky voice was quickly silenced as Koffing's inflation completely covered him up.

"I'm soooorrryyyy...!" Koffing gurgled right before his entire body became covered in a bright light.

Blue and I glanced at each other.

"Uh oh."

The last thing I saw was Blue diving towards me. Then, everything faded to white.


	4. Let's go together

**• ****  
Chapter 4:**

**"Let's go together"**

My head throbbed painfully as I slowly awoke. It felt like hundreds of drums were banging and crashing around inside my head as I dazedly staggered to my feet. My mind was a mess, all my senses were scrambled and disoriented. My eyes couldn't focus, making the entire world look like it was constantly spinning around me. A dull, incessant noise rang inside my ears, making it difficult for me to hear anything.

As I slowly recovered, I tried to inspect myself for any injuries. My face, ruff, and front legs were all covered in a thick layer of rock dust, sand and water. Feeling incredibly uncomfortable, I weakly tried to shake the grime off my fur, but in my dazed state, I only ended up tripping over my own feet and falling face-first on to the floor.

Luckily, or maybe unluckily, the sudden shock of my face striking the rocky ground jarred my senses back into action. Pulling myself off the ground, I quickly glanced around the chamber to figure out what had happened.

The entire chamber was covered with a dense, dusty fog. Rubble of all shapes and sizes were lying all around the floor, ranging from tiny pebbles to large chunks of the walls surrounding us. Confused, I stumbled around the messy room, trying to piece together the events that happened in my mind.

"Ugh..." Suddenly, I heard a strange noise from somewhere around me. The clouds of dust that covered the room was making it difficult for me to see, so I instead closed my eyes and strained my ears to try to pinpoint where the noise was coming from.

The dull buzzing noise inside my head was making it difficult for me to focus, but soon enough, I caught the sound again. Strangely though, the sound this time came from somewhere beneath me. I turned my ears towards the ground and tried to listen again.

"Fée..." I heard someone call my name. Feeling a little eager, I lowered my head even further and listened more closely.

"Fée... It hurts..."

The sound confused me. I bent down even further and felt a strange texture brush against my ears. It was soft, and a little ticklish.

"Please... Get off..."

Feeling even more confused, I decided to open my eyes and see what it is. I looked down and saw Blue lying underneath me. His chest heaved painfully as he gasped for breath. For a second, I wondered why he was having so much trouble breathing.

Then, I realized I was standing on his body.

"Eek!" I shouted as I jumped into the air. I stammered out multiple apologies as he slowly rose from the ground.

"It's alright, no need for apologies," He said as he rubbed his head. He looked over at me and gave me a wry grin, "You weren't that heavy anyway. I barely felt anything."

I responded by gently smacking him over the head with my paw and pouting a little. He laughed and stood up from the ground, dusting himself off with his arms.

"You look pretty good in that color, Fée," Blue remarked, staring at my dust-covered fur, "gray looks good on you."

"You're not one to talk, Blue," I replied, pointing out his own dust-covered body, "I think I'd better call you Gray from now on, hee hee!"

"Hm, then I think I'll call you Gréy. How about that?"

"That sounds exactly the same as Gray!"

We shared a look with each other for a moment before we both suddenly burst into laughter. The walls around the chamber reflected our laughter, echoing our voices all around us. As we recovered from our laughing spell, I noticed that the dusty fog had lifted slightly, revealing more of the chamber. Feeling a little nervous, I glanced over to the wall where Koffing and Zubat were stuck in just a while ago.

Well, maybe it's better to say 'where the wall once was.' When Koffing exploded, he completely demolished part of the cavern wall, revealing the outside world.

Through the hole, I saw a beautiful sight. The sun had finally set, replacing the orange glow of the sky with a pure, inky blackness. Twinkling stars filled up the night sky with sparkling lights, while the shiny, glowing moon floated in the center of it all.

"Blue..." I said, staring at the wondrous sight, "It's beautiful..."

"Yeah. It is," Blue replied as he watched the stars with me.

For a while, we just watched the stars in the sky in silence. As we admired the beauty, I thought back to everything that had happened today. From my flight from the Guild, the sudden and terrifying storm, meeting Blue on the beach...

Shyly, I sneaked a glance at Blue. He was distracted by the sight of the moon and the stars outside the cave. Suddenly, a strange wave of emotion washed over me, and my vision began to blur. Soon, large tear drops began to roll down the sides of my face. I tried to wipe them away, but they just kept coming.

It was strange. I wasn't feeling sad, nor was I scared. So why am I crying?

"Fée?" Through my blurry eyes, I saw Blue turn towards me. I hurriedly tried to hide my face, "Fée? What's wrong?"

"I – I don't know...!" I sobbed, "The tears...they just don't stop..."

I kept wiping my eyes until my paws were completely drenched with salty water. I just couldn't stop crying.

"I'm not...I'm not even sad..." I hiccuped, trying to prove my point by giving him a tear-stained smile.

"Tears of happiness then," He smirked at me and walked forward. I wiped my eyes and followed his blurry figure through the chamber. We stopped right before the hole in the cavern wall. Blue, noticing something, bent down and dusted the floor with his paw.

"Aha, here we are," He smiled as he retrieved an object from underneath a pile of debris, "It's still a little dirty, but we can fix that."

I tried to make out what he was holding, but another sudden wave of tears blurred my sight again. Blue whimsically tossed the object up into the air and effortlessly caught it on the way down. Blue silently walked over to a small pool of water at the side of the chamber and crouched down. He stuck his paws into the water and began to make splashing noises. Curious, I wandered over to see what he was doing.

"Here you go, Fée," From within the clear water, even through my tear-stained eyes, I saw my precious treasure lying in the middle of the pool. Blue, after scrubbing off all the gunk and grime, pulled it out of the water and held it up against the moon. It sparkled as the moonlight reflected off its surface.

"Consider this my apology for earlier."

I felt another wave of tears gush forth from my eyes when he placed it down in front of me. It looked almost exactly like it was before it got stolen, beautiful and magnificent. Emotionally, I placed a shaking paw on my treasure's smooth surface.

"Blue..." I didn't know what to say. It felt like all my emotions were whirling around in my head like a hurricane. Sniffling, I futilely wiped my eyes again and looked up at Blue.

"You've done so – so much for me, and we've j – just met..." The tears were coming out in full force now. I shut my eyes tightly, trying to stem the flow of my tears, but they just kept coming. I just sobbed, and sobbed as a whirlwind of emotion raged inside me, "H–how can I ever th – thank you enough?"

"Fée..."

"If I hadn't met you..." I choked in between hiccups, "If I hadn't met you... I probably never would've been able to get this back...I probably never would've been able to do anything..."

"I would've just stayed...stayed at home and cried about how much of a coward I am..."

I sniffled and shook my head. Through my wet, blurry gaze, I saw Blue standing in front of me. I couldn't tell what expression he had on his face, but just the sight of him, even if it was unclear, made me cry even harder.

"And...and...!" My emotions were spilling out of my mouth in waves now, "If I hadn't met you...I never would've discovered how exciting it was to be... to be an explorer!"

I thought back to the time we spent in the tunnels. Running away from the Kabuto, navigating the dark tunnels and resting in beautiful, sunlit chambers... If I hadn't met him... I never would've been able to experience any of that. If I hadn't met him... I would've spent every day at home, wishing I was an explorer instead of truly experiencing it.

"I don't know how I can thank you, Blue...!" I kept trying to wipe my eyes, to be able to see his face clearly, but the tears kept coming and coming, "I've never been so – so happy!"

I tried to wipe my eyes again, but suddenly, Blue grabbed on to my paw. I held my breath as I felt him gently caressed my cheeks, gently wiping off all my tears. When I finally opened my eyes, I found that I could now see clearly. And the first thing I saw...was the face of my new friend.

"Fée." He said my name, "You don't have to thank me."

He placed my paw against his chest. I could feel his strong, steady heartbeat from within.

"If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't be able to sit here right now." He said softly, "You're no coward, Fée. You're a brave, strong hero."

"N...no...I–" I tried to protest, but he quieted me by placing a finger against my mouth.

"No matter what you feel, no matter how scared you are..." He grasped my paw tightly and stared directly into my eyes, "Just remember, you're much stronger than you think. So don't call yourself a coward anymore, Fée."

"I...I'm not a coward..." I mumbled quietly. Blue shook his head and grasped my paw tighter.

"I couldn't hear that."

"I...I'm not a coward."

"What was that?"

"I'm not a coward!"

"One more time!"

"I'm not a coward–!"

I shouted at the top of my lungs, bellowing it out as loud as I could. The sound echoed all around us as it bounced around the chamber. I heard my voice reflecting all around me, making me feel like there were tens, if not hundreds of Fées cheering me on.

"Blue..." I whispered when the echoes finally died down, "I'm not a coward anymore..."

He gave me a wide smile and pulled me in for a hug.

"You never were, Fée."

Then, right as I was about to close my eyes, he abruptly pushed me away. My eyes fluttered open in surprise. He then placed his paw against my forehead.

"Yow!" I yelped as he flicked my forehead with his finger. I flinched, more out of surprise than pain, at his sudden change in attitude. I winced as I rubbed my throbbing forehead. I glared at Blue, who was trying his best to stifle a snicker.

"Now cut it out with the sad stuff and go to sleep," He said as he yawned and stretched. He turned away from me and flopped on to the ground, preparing to go to sleep, "We've got a big day tomorrow. So go get some rest."

"A big day?" I felt a little annoyed, and also a little disappointed for some reason, "What do you mean?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He waved his arm around dismissively, "Aren't we going to go to your town tomorrow?

My ears perked up when I heard that. Before I could process what he said, I suddenly found myself bounding over to him and placing my paws on his side. I felt a strange sense of eagerness and elation wash over me as I stared at his sleeping face.

"You really mean it?" I said, shaking him with my paws, "You.. you want to stay with me? You want to go to Treasure Town with me tomorrow?"

"Ergh..." One of his eyes fluttered open and stared at me, "Yes, Fée. Let's go together tomorrow. Now let me go to sleep."

"Blue!" I couldn't contain my happiness. I sprung at him, paws outstretched. His eyes opened wide in surprise as we tumbled onto the ground together. I gave him a big, grateful hug while on top of him. He groaned and tried to shake me off, but I held on tightly and refused to let go.

"Thank you so much, Blue!" I shouted happily, nuzzling my face into his chest, "You're the best friend ever!"

"Aaagh, just let me sleep!"


	5. All explorers want to go on adventures!

**•   
Chapter 5:**

**"All explorers want to go on adventures!"**

I awoke to the sounds of Wingulls cawing somewhere in the distance. Feeling the morning sun shine on my face, I yawned and stretched my legs as I tried to shake off any lingering drowsiness. At first, I couldn't quite recognize where I was. But, as I looked out at the shining ocean outside, my memories of yesterday came flooding back like a tidal wave.

An uplifting feeling began to surge through my body, driving out the remaining drowsiness inside. Feeling excited, I bounced up on to my feet and skipped towards the end of the chamber. There, I stood at the hole that overlooked the sea.

In the distance, I watched as a flock of white Wingull flew by, squawking loudly as they sailed over the vast blue ocean. The sun peeked over the horizon, sending a gleaming ray of light down the center of the sea. A cool sea breeze blew into the cavern. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as the wind gently ruffled my fur.

Feeling totally awake now, I smiled and turned around. Lying in the center of the chamber was my friend, still snoring away peacefully. Tiptoeing quietly over to where he was sleeping, I gently poked him on the cheek.

"Blue?" I whispered, "Blue, its morning now."

No response. Feeling a little daring now, I prodded his face again, but harder this time. I was rewarded with a low grumble and a small scowl forming on his face. I giggled as he tried to swat my paws away while unconscious.

"If you don't wake up, I'm gonna keep poking you."

A grumbling noise emerged from his mouth as he rolled away from me. Stifling another giggle, I placed my paws on his side and gently rocked him back and forth. It was like trying to rouse an extremely lazy child. His brow furrowed in annoyance as I kept rolling his sleeping form around like a log.

Despite how entertaining it was to annoy him while he slept, I did want him to wake up soon. Separating myself from him, I glanced around the rocky chamber to see if I could find anything to use. As I scanned around the area, a bright glint of light from far away caught my eye. Curious, I wandered over and found that it was a small pool filled with fresh water.

Feeling a little thirsty, I decided to dip my mouth in and drink my fill. The water tasted cool and sweet. While I was satisfying my thirst, a mischievous idea came into my head.

* * *

Blue found himself standing in the middle of darkness. No matter which way he looked, all he could see was an endless sea of nothing. The sky was completely black, with not even the hint of a star's twinkle or the glow of the moon. The ground, covered with a thick layer of white snow, was icy and uncomfortable to stand on. Oddly, hundreds, if not thousands of snowflakes hung in the air, not falling, completely unmoving.

He walked forward, down a road made of snow and surrounded by nothing. Every step he took made a loud crunching noise as he crushed the frozen dirt underneath his feet. Blue tried to make sense of the world he was in as he walked. Blue reached out his arm to grab a hold of one of the snowflakes frozen in the air. But as soon as his paw touched the icy shard, it suddenly shattered into pieces and vanished.

Feeling annoyed and frustrated, Blue kicked off the ground and broke into a run. Powdery snow scattered wildly behind him as he charged down the road. Darkness after darkness rushed past him as he tore up the road. Blue panted heavily as he kept pushing himself forward, desperately trying to escape the emptiness around him.

Eventually, Blue skidded to a halt as he noticed something was standing far in the distance. Suddenly, a chill rushed down Blue spine. A horrifying, massive creature ten times his size was standing in the middle of the road. With two glowing eyes, it stared down at Blue.

The beast emitted a terrifying roar and reared up on its hind legs. Blue instinctively took up a defensive stance as the monster came crashing down on him with its huge front legs. Despite blocking most of it, the incredible force of the attack still sent Blue skidding backwards. Crying out in surprise, Blue bent forward and dug his paws into the snow to slow him down.

The monster gazed down at Blue's injured form and roared again. In response, Blue snarled back angrily and launched himself towards it, his right paw balled up into a fist. He swung his fist wildly at the beast's face, intending to knock it out in one blow.

But, the blow never came. Confused, Blue looked down his arm. His fist had vanished into the body of the creature, absorbed into its black carapace.

Blue screamed in horror as he frantically tried to pull his arm out of the creature. But, before he could do anything, the beast unleashed an unearthly bellow. The force of the roar separated Blue from the creature's body and sent him flying into the air. Blue violently crashed into one of the piles of snow surrounding the area, scattering icy shards into the air. Stunned, Blue tried to drag himself out of the cold snow, but ended up rolling down the side of it. He groaned as his body struck the ground, hard.

The monster slowly encroached on the fallen Blue. It opened its mouth and began to inhale loudly. Blue, now panicking, tried to scramble on to his feet and run away. But, he only managed to get as far as a few feet away before he collapsed in pain.

He picked himself up from the ground and gazed up at the massive beast looming over him. Its eyes and mouth were both glowing a violent shade of orange.

Blue shut his eyes as the creature lunged forward.

* * *

Quietly, sneakily, and maybe just a little mean, I leaned over to take a peek at Blue's sleeping face. He had such a peaceful face on him that it was actually making me start to have second thoughts. No, I made up my mind. Taking a moment to compose myself, I slowly leaned my face over his and...

I saw a pair of red – colored eyes staring into mine. For an unusually long second, we stared at each other wordlessly.

"Wah!" Startled, I leapt backwards quickly. The water spilled all over his face, completely drenching his head and the top part of his torso. I quickly scrabbled to my feet and scooted a short distance away from him and looked away, trying to look as innocent as possible.

"Wha...what happened?" I heard him groan sleepily from behind me, "Where'd it go...?"

Curious, I turned around and saw him doing something odd. His eyes were wide open, but they looked like they were glazed over. He was wildly swinging his arms into the air, as if he was trying to punch something invisible. Every time he swung at the air, he nearly fell over from his own momentum.

Stifling a giggle, I quietly sneaked up behind him, while being mindful of his punches. I leaned in close to his ear and shouted, "Good morning, Blue!"

"Bwah?!" His entire body turned rigid like a statue, with his arms flopping down to his sides. He blinked a few times before turning around to face me, wherein I responded by giving him a great big smile

"G – good morning Fée..." He gave a big sigh and rubbed his ears gingerly, "Did you sleep well?"

"Not as well as you did, apparently!" I giggled as I watched him stagger to his feet, "Did you have a good dream?

"Dream?" He muttered in a quiet voice, "I don't know. Did I look like I was having a dream?"

"Well, you looked like you were punching somebody while you were sleeping."

"Strange, I don't remember anything about a dream." A few water droplets fell on to the ground as he patted his puzzled face, "I guess it isn't a big deal."

"Waking you up was a pretty big deal," I remarked, "You wouldn't wake up no matter what I did!"

He stared at his wet paws for a second before giving me a suspicious look, "I guess that explains why my face is soaked, hm?"

Wiping the water off his face with his paws, he kept a single droplet on his finger. He gave me an evil grin as he flicked water at me. I responded by sticking out my tongue at him playfully.

Once he dried off his face, he stood up and began to shake off his drowsiness by yawning and stretching. While he was busy waking himself up, I noticed that, as he moved, the scars on his leg and arms still looked fairly raw and reddish.

"Blue, how are you feeling?" I asked, worried about his health, "Your arms and legs, are they okay?"

Maybe he was surprised at my concern, since he glanced down at his leg and arm before quickly brushing it off, "It's nothing." He flexed a muscle, showing his healing scar, "See? I barely feel a thing anymore."

He shook his head at me and gave me a toothy grin to reassure me that it was fine. I wasn't convinced, but I gave him a small nod and sighed. Once we get back to town, maybe I can find some bandages and berries for him.

After making a mental reminder to get medical help for Blue, I wandered around the chamber trying to think about how we were going to leave this place and head back to town. Feeling daring, I wandered over to the explosion's hole and peered over the edge.

As I did so, a rough sea breeze blew against my face, ruffling my fur and making it difficult to see. From my limited vision, I spotted a small rocky ledge that stretched out underneath the hole. The ledge looked like it wrapped around the side of the cliff, and appeared stable and solid enough for us to walk on.

"Anything interesting out there?" I heard Blue call from within the chamber.

"There's a path here," I shouted back, "It's really windy outside though!"

I pulled my head back as another gust of wind flew past. As I sat down to catch my breath, Blue wandered over to the hole and leaned over to the side of the hole. While he was busy surveying the area, I rubbed my face with my paws, trying to brush my fur back in place after the wind messed it up. When I opened my eyes again, I noticed that Blue was no longer standing there.

"B – Blue?!" I screamed in shock as I leapt to my feet. I spun around in place, wondering if he was somewhere in the chamber. Then, I looked at the hole in the wall.

Panicked thoughts flew through my head as I rushed over to the hole. I stuck my head outside, fearing the worst.

"I'm down here!" I heard him shout from somewhere beneath me. I gave a relieved sigh when I saw Blue standing on the ledge beneath me. He reached up with his arms and gestured for me to join him on the ledge.

"This ledge connects all the way around the cliff," He said, pointing over to his right, "If we keep going this way, we'll probably end up somewhere around the beach."

Going around the cliff did seem like a faster way back home than going backwards through the cave again. However, as I looked down at the ledge, the ocean was right below us. I gulped as I saw a wave crash against the cliff side violently, sending a spray of seawater up into the air.

"Fée, are you alright?" I was jarred out of my imagination by Blue's voice. I shook my head and slapped the sides of my face. I'm a different Fée from yesterday. I can do this!

But, right as I was about to leap down, a sudden thought ran through my mind.

"Oh, hold on Blue," I called down at him, "Give me just a moment, okay?"

He nodded and sat down on the ledge, "Take your time, I'm in no hurry."

I quickly turned around and ran back to where we were sleeping. There, I spotted my treasure lying on the ground, glinting brightly in the sunlight. Inwardly, I scolded myself for almost forgetting to pick up my precious treasure before leaving. Hurriedly, I snatched it up with my mouth and brought it over to the edge.

"Bwoo!" I shouted in a muffled voice, "Pwease holf on to disph!"

Gently, I dropped my treasure down on to the ledge. After Blue picked it up and nodded at me, I prepared to drop down. Taking it slowly, one step at a time, I lowered myself on to the ledge. Thankfully, the ledge was covered with a thin layer of grass, making it easy to walk on. Once I got all my feet firmly on the ledge, I looked at Blue and nodded.

"Alright, let's go." He returned my nod and moved towards the side of the cliff. Nervously, I followed him while also keeping close to the wall. I tried as hard as I could to ignore the fact that I was walking on a rocky path that was floating several feet above the ocean. Taking another deep gulp, I shook my head and put on a brave face.

* * *

"It's the beach!"

Sand went flying all over the place as I dived joyfully on to the beach. I scooped up the warm white sand to my chest and rolled over on to my back, hugging it tightly.

"Come on Fée," While upside – down, I saw Blue slowly climb off the ledge and drop on to the beach with a small thump. He knelt beside me and playfully nudged me on the forehead, grinning, "The trip wasn't that bad."

"Says you!" I retorted, rolling right – side up and throwing a pawful of sand at him, "I felt like I was walking on pins and needles the whole time!"

"I dunno," He grinned and patted my head as he dusted the sand off his face, "I thought it was pretty exciting."

"You say that, but I saw you shaking when we were half – way across." I grabbed his arm on my head with both paws and gave him a coy smirk, "You must've been pretty 'excited' that your legs were shuddering like jelly!"

"It was just the wind," He replied nonchalantly, but I spotted the faint blush appearing on his cheeks and smiled wider, "It was cold up there, you know?"

"Hee, hee," I giggled knowingly and let go of his paw. I rolled around on the sand a few times, feeling happy for no real reason. Blue just sighed in defeat and shrugged. After I had covered my fur with a thin layer of sand, I stood up and glanced around the beach, shaking the sand off me.

The beach looked exactly the same as it did before we entered the cave. All the debris, seaweed and other junk still covered a large portion of the shore, making the place look like a total mess. A small palm tree even got knocked down sometime during the storm, separating the beach into two halves with its trunk.

Blue had wandered over to the fallen tree and crossed over to the other side. I just about started to follow him when I suddenly noticed something moving within the palm tree's fronds. Curious, I took a detour and stopped in front of the leafy top of the tree instead. It shuddered and shook on its own as if it was alive. I was just about to push aside one of the large leaves when suddenly, a black blur shot out from within the fronds.

"Eep!" Startled, I fell on my back, scattering even more sand everywhere. I quickly scrambled back on to my feet and looked back at the palm tree. A slimy – looking black hand was moving around the fronds like a creepy tentacle. A few seconds later, another slimy hand exited the bushy fronds. Both hands worked together to push aside the leaves, revealing their owner.

"Ku, hu, hu..." A creepy – looking Pokémon I didn't recognize emerged from the fronds. He was dark blue with a white stripe around his belly. His two shifty yellow eyes kept rapidly looking around as he slowly pulled himself free from the leaves.

Spooked, I took a cautious step back as the creepy stranger glanced around, making strange 'ku hu hu' noises as he did so. A chill ran down my spine when he suddenly locked eyes with me.

"Ohhhh..." He said in a low, drawling voice, "Sorry... I didn't know there were other people here... ku, hu, hu..."

"Uh, um..." I was seriously creeped out, and the way he was staring at me didn't help. I nervously looked around, hoping to find Blue nearby, but he wasn't anywhere to be found.

The stranger made another 'ku hu hu' noise and turned his back to me. He brushed aside the fronds of the fallen palm tree and looked as though he was digging around inside it for something. My curiosity overriding my nervousness, I craned my head to see what he was doing.

"Ku, hu, hu," There was that creepy laugh again, and it sent another chill down my spine. The Pokémon turned around, and this time he was holding something pink in his right hand. It looked strangely familiar to me.

"...ah!" I blurted out accidentally without thinking, "That's my bag!"

"Ku...?" His eyes slowly moved to look at his hand, "This is yours?"

I nodded. It was the very same bag that Koffing and Zubat stole yesterday. I felt a little pang of regret as the torn straps fluttered sadly in the wind. The stranger rotated his head and stared at my bag for an uncomfortably long amount of time before making another creepy 'ku' noise.

"What a pity..." He mumbled disappointingly, closing his eyes and shaking his head, "It's a pretty nice bag."

"Um..." I guess I got complimented. I did make that bag myself after hours and hours of painstaking work. He doesn't know that though...I hope.

"Ku, hu, hu..." He made that noise again and carelessly flung my bag into the air. It landed in front of me with a light thump, "Here you go then..."

Without taking my eyes off him, I slowly bent down and picked up my bag with my teeth. After being on the beach for an entire day, the bag tasted like salty seawater. When I looked back up to give the stranger my thanks, he had already vanished back in to the palm tree's fronds. But not before leaving me with another 'ku hu hu' as the fronds closed behind him.

Feeling a strange combination of gratitude and uneasiness, I slowly backed away from the top of the palm tree until I was a fair distance away. Then, I ran towards the other side of the beach as fast as I could without looking back. Once I was far enough away, I sighed and let the bag drop from my mouth.

"I guess he wasn't such a bad guy after all," I mumbled to myself, taking quick glance over my shoulder. The Pokémon's strange chuckle rang inside my mind again as I did so, sending another wave of chills down my spine.

"Fée?" I looked up and saw Blue walking towards me, still holding on to my treasure, "Fée, what's taking you so long?"

"It's...um," I sneaked a quick peek at the palm tree before responding, "It's nothing. Where did you go?"

"I thought I saw something weird sneak by," He said, looking curious while he scratched the back of his head, "Did you see it? It was blue and kept making this weird 'ku hu hu' noise with its mouth."

"Um..." I took another speedy glance at the shaking fronds behind us before shaking my head, "No, I didn't see anything creepy like that.

"Creepy?" Blue repeated, looking suspicious.

I shook my head furiously, "No, no! It's nothing! You just – uh – made it sound really creepy with the way you described it, that's all."

"Well...alright then," He said as he dropped the subject, still looking a little disbelieving. I sighed in relief. I didn't really know why I lied about meeting that weird Pokémon. Maybe I just didn't want to think about him anymore than I had to. Blue picked up my pink bag with his other hand.

"Oh, that's –," I began to say.

"I remember this," He interrupted, holding my bag up to the sun, "It's the bag that those two jerks stole from you, right?"

"Yeah," I replied, "I just – uhm – found it on the beach a few minutes ago."

Blue grinned and opened my bag before remarking, "This'll make things easier by a lot."

He took my precious treasure and put it back inside the bag. Then, after making sure the flap was tightly closed, he took the two torn up straps and tied them back together.

"Here Fée, lean your head down for a sec,"

I obliged. He leaned down and put the newly repaired strap around my neck. He spent a few seconds adjusting it so it didn't look strange. Once he finished, I sat down and held it up with my paws. A sense of gratitude washed through me when I let go and felt the bag stay on my body. The straps weren't well tied, and the bag was oddly balanced around my neck. But, such things didn't matter to me.

"I love it!" I said gratefully as I spun around on the spot, admiring his handiwork. He scratched his nose sheepishly as I circled around him joyfully.

"It's just a quick patch job," He remarked nonchalantly, "I'm sure someone else can fix it up better than I could."

I just smiled at Blue and gleefully bounded off with it bouncing around my neck. Even if it wasn't really fixed, it still felt great to have my old bag around with me again. Then, I realized that I should thank the Pokémon who found it for me as well. I spun around and looked at the palm tree.

"Thank you!" I shouted as loud as I could. Blue looked confused and turned to look at the palm tree to see who I was shouting at, but the weird Pokémon didn't appear. Still, I felt like he probably heard it. I cheerfully walked up to Blue and poked him to get his attention.

"Come on Blue!" I said cheerfully, feeling even more energetic than before, "Let's go to Treasure Town. I'll show you around!"

Blue still had a confused expression on his face as I happily ran off towards the path that lead towards Treasure Town. I turned around and waved at him to follow me before continuing on. I heard Blue shout something like 'hey wait,' but I was getting that mischievous feeling again and pretended to not hear him.

"Hee, hee!"

* * *

Treasure Town was originally but a humble rest stop built by a group of explorers intending on using the area as a resting point in between expeditions. Surrounded by craggy mountains and the vast sea, the rest stop was practically a necessity for the explorers as they sought out fame, fortune and adventure in the dangerous frontier surrounding the area.

Then, as the numbers of explorers grew, the small rest stop had become a tiny settlement. By that point, the settlement became famous among aspiring young explorers as being 'the' place to be for exploring, inciting even more Pokémon to make pilgrimages to the so-called "Frontier Town of Treasure." The group of explorers that originally founded the settlement became known as the Great Explorers, and the tales of their expeditions became legends within the settlement.

As more and more new blood migrated to the settlement, it was only natural that it eventually grew into the Treasure Town we know now. Today, over hundreds of Pokémon now reside within the town, and many more that just visit. Not all of them are explorers, of course. Many Pokémon immigrated to Treasure Town seeking other things like business, the romance of adventure, or just the experience of living in a bustling frontier city.

As for the explorers of today. Many explorers have formed teams or guilds within the town, bringing together Pokémon of all kinds and temperaments to go on expeditions to the vast, untamed lands that surround the town. But one guild stands leagues above the rest, and that is the guild founded by one great explorer known as Wigglytuff.

Wigglytuff's Guild is famous far and wide, even beyond the borders of Treasure Town. The guild is known by many as "the greatest guild in the world," or "the guild that everyone wishes they can become someday," or even "that guild that I wish would stop being so good at exploring so we can actually get a chance at getting some treasure sometime, dagnabbit!"

And they're famous for a good reason as well, as Wigglytuff's Guild is the only guild in Treasure Town that has not only explored every and all lands around the Town, but have completely mapped them as well! An incredible feat that was only said to have been done by the original founders of the town. Very few other guilds can claim to have done more than two full expeditions in their lifetimes.

Regardless, it goes without saying that for explorers of today and of the future; Treasure Town is the greatest place to be an explorer!

* * *

"I see..." Blue mused thoughtfully as I finished my lecture on the history of Treasure Town.

After we had exited the beach, we entered a small side path that snaked through a copse of trees that was nearby to the town. I had told Blue everything I knew about Treasure Town as we walked through the forest. It was surprising to me when he suddenly asked me about Treasure Town. I expected him to at least had known about one of the biggest towns in the world!

"You're pretty knowledgeable about this stuff, Fée," He remarked with an amused look on his face. I blushed and denied him by shaking my head.

"I just like reading, that's all." I admitted, "There's a big library in town that's filled with all sorts of books that Pokémon bring in."

I gave a little prideful sniff, "I always make sure to read everything new that comes in every day."

Blue laughed and scratched his head sheepishly, "I don't think I was a very good reader then. Otherwise I probably wouldn't have lost my memory."

I gave him a worried look as he gave a wry chuckle, "Blue..."

"Oh don't look at me like that," He said, slapping me on the back and grinning, "It was just a joke. A joke!"

He must've noticed that I looked unconvinced, since he slapped me on the back again and said, "So! Fée, why don't you teach me a thing or two about what explorers do then?" He grinned at me and shrugged, "Fill me in about things I don't know, teacher!"

"Oh!" My ears perked up when I heard him call me teacher. Giddily, I began another lecture, "Well, there's a lot of things explorers do!"

A small stump was lying on the side of the road ahead of us. Feeling oddly exuberant, I rushed over to the stump and stood on top of it. Clearing my throat, I conjured up as much information as I could about my favorite subject.

"Explorers are probably the most important of all Pokémon in Treasure Town," I lectured as Blue sat down in front of me with a bemused grin on his face, "You could say they even make up the backbone of the town itself!"

"As for what they do, you can probably tell by their name," I continued energetically, "Explorers primarily go off into the world and – well – explore!"

"There's so many places out there in this world that lie unknown and unexplored to us all," I paused dramatically, "But luckily, Treasure Town was built right in the center of this great, mysterious frontier. So explorers from all over the world come to Treasure Town, since it's so close to so many places to explore!"

I stopped when I saw a blue hand raise from the ground. Giggling a little, I pointed at Blue, who was raising his hand like a dutiful student.

"Yes, question from the Riolu at the front!"

"Well, explorers explore, as you said," Blue commented, lowering his hand, "But what do they get out of exploring?"

"Good question!" I was feeling bubbly inside by how much fun this was, "Many explorers have their own reasons for exploring! Some just want to go out and become famous by discovering new and amazing places, others dive into caves and dungeons for the chance of finding hidden treasure. But there's one thing that all explorers strive for as they travel to Treasure Town!"

"And what is that?"

I waited a second for dramatic tension, then, I puffed out my chest as proudly and shouted as loud as I could.

"All explorers want to go on adventures!"

Blue clapped admiringly as I took a deep breath and concluded my lecture. I leapt off the stump and stood next to Blue.

"Maybe I'm saying too much," I admitted, feeling a little embarrassed at my outburst, "I'm not even a real explorer yet."

I pawed the dirt on the ground sheepishly as Blue stood back up. He walked over to me and grabbed the sides of my face with both his paws. Then, he started pulling.

"Ow, ow, ow!" I shouted as he stretched out my cheeks, "Waff are you doinff?!"

"If that's all you needed to be an explorer," He said, letting go of my face. I rubbed my cheeks gingerly as he continued, "Then you're already an explorer, don't you think?"

"What do you mean?" I said, confused.

"You said all explorers want to go on adventures, right?" I nodded at his statement. Then, he puffed out his chest and crossed his arms, "Then you're an explorer. You went on an adventure with me yesterday, remember?"

He had a point. The thought of that never even crossed my mind until now. I really did go on an adventure yesterday. I explored the dark, scary cave on the beach with Blue. Still, I shook my head and gave him a small smile.

"It's not that easy, Blue," I said as he raised his eyebrow in confusion, "There's a lot of rules about how to become an actual explorer, you see. It's not as easy as just going into a cave."

"Ugh," Blue made a disparaging noise in his throat at my statement. I giggled and began to walk down the path to town again as I began to explain.

"You see, not anyone can just be an explorer," I reasoned, "There's this big group of Pokémon that decide whether or not you're eligible to become an explorer."

"That sounds complicated," Blue grumbled, annoyed.

I giggled and continued my explanation, "There's a reason why it's complicated."

"You see, back then, anyone could become an explorer. But that caused a lot of problems as some mean and unfair Pokémon used to go and pretend to join other explorers on expeditions." I frowned unhappily at that, "These bullies would then attack their own teammates and steal their belongings before running away."

"The thought of Pokémon that do that makes me pretty disgusted, to be honest with you," I commented. Blue nodded with me in agreement, also frowning angrily, before letting me continue, "So a group of famous exploration team leaders came together one day in Treasure Town and decided that they had to do something about this problem."

"So what did they come up with?" Blue asked as he kicked a pebble off the road, "The way I see it, the problem they had sounded pretty awful."

"Oh, it was pretty awful," I said sadly as I watched the pebble bounce off the dirt and into the forest, "There were reports of attacks and thievery almost every day. No one knew who to trust and who to partner with for a long time."

"But!" I smiled and turned to face Blue, "The team leaders did come up with a great plan. They decided that any Pokémon that wanted to be an explorer must first apply to one of their exploration teams."

"Hold on," Blue interrupted, "Wouldn't that basically be like painting a target on themselves?"

I shook my head and grinned, "You'd think so, but it wasn't like that."

"Any aspiring explorer had to first become an apprentice in one of their teams before they were allowed to go on any expeditions," I explained. "And with that, it became much harder for the thieves and bullies to cheat and steal from the honest explorers."

"Why is that?" Blue asked, scratching his chin.

"Well, you see, now when an apprentice wants to go out and explore, they had to be supervised by an experienced explorer associated with their team," I said cheerfully, "It made it pretty hard for the thieves to steal when they were under the watchful eye of a super strong and super savvy explorer, you know."

Blue chuckled at that, "I see now, that does make things a little safer." He paused for a second, and then asked a question, "Hm, but wouldn't that make it a bit difficult for new explorers to just jump into the thick of things and start exploring?"

"Well, it's true that new explorers now have to go through an apprenticeship before they can do everything they want." I admitted, "A lot of other Pokémon weren't happy about their decision either."

As we walked, I noticed a small stream ahead of us. I was feeling a little parched from talking so much, so I pointed it out to Blue and gestured that I wanted to have a drink. He nodded and we stopped at the river.

"But, it did get results, you know." I continued after I quenched my thirst, "A lot of problematic Pokémon got caught before they got to do anything, and a lot of new explorers learned a lot from their experienced teachers. So it was a win – win situation in the end."

"Well, I guess I can't complain if it works," Blue said as he bent down and splashed the water on his face while I rested my tired feet in the cool stream.

"And that's why I want to join Wigglytuff's Guild," I said, puffing out my chest pridefully, "They're the best of the best, and I want to learn how to be a great explorer from them."

"Heh," Blue chuckled as he played with the water, "You did say something about them earlier during your history lesson."

He squirted some icy water into my face playfully, "I'm surprised you haven't already applied to be an apprentice there."

"Yeah..." I said, sending a splash of water back at him, "It's not that I haven't already tried."

"What do you mean?" Blue wiped the water off his face and gave me a puzzled glance.

I shook my head and admitted, "I've actually tried to join them for...well, months now, I suppose." I scooped out a tiny leaf that was floating in the stream and stared at it, "Every day, I walk up to their gates and try to work up the courage to apply, but I always run away in the end."

Blue let out a low whistle. Smiling wryly to myself, I let go of the leaf and watched it get carried away by the wind.

"But, you know," I glanced over at Blue, "I think today's the day."

I looked up into the sky past the leafy canopy and grinned, "I'm not the same, cowardly Fée as before. Today, I'm going to go to the gates, walk right in, and ask them to accept me as an apprentice!"


	6. What is all of this?

**•   
Chapter 6:**

**"What is all of this?"**

"Ah!" Fée suddenly stopped in her tracks. Turning around, she looked at Blue with excitement sparkling in her eyes, "Look! I see the exit ahead!"

"Really?" Blue replied casually, "I just see more trees ahead, are you sure?"

"Positive!" Fée replied. She faced the other way and began to run ahead, leaving Blue behind as she kicked up clouds of dust in her wake.

"Hold on Fée!" Blue shouted back, coughing a little from the dust, "What's the rush?"

Blue shook the dust off his face and rubbed his eyes. However, by the time he managed to recover from her sudden sand attack, all he could see was Fée's little brown tail wagging happily in the distance.

Shaking his head and smirking bemusedly to himself, Blue decided that trying to catch up was pointless now, and decided to plod along at his own pace. He grimaced slightly as he felt a dull pain shoot up his left leg as he walked. Blue glanced down at his leg. The red scars from yesterday still glowered angrily at him. Subconsciously, he rubbed his arms, feeling the welts that Zubat gave him. A sudden image of Fée's worried expression flashed inside his mind.

"I can't let her be worried about something like this," He whispered to himself, sighing, "Just gotta grin and bear with it for now."

He slapped the sides of his face to shake off any lingering doubt and continued his leisurely pace after his friend.

* * *

My entire body was quivering with excitement as I ran through the woods at full speed. I couldn't put a finger on why I was feeling so exhilarated. Maybe I was just really looking forward to showing Blue around my beloved town. My thoughts were filled with ideas and plans about what I should take him to see, about what I can tell him, and other silly stuff like that.

Maybe I could take him to Miltank's Milk Parlor and get some nice frothy jugs of cream, that sounded pretty good. Or maybe we could go visit Mr. Mime's library, oh, but does he like to read? I don't know... Oh, how about visiting the bazaar? There's usually something interesting on display there, maybe he'll like that!

Just thinking about those plans made me run even faster. I looked around and saw that the trees around me were thinning out, meaning that I was nearing the exit of the forest. Once we're out of the trees, we'll reach the main road that leads to the entrance of Treasure Town. Feeling eager, I quickly glanced backwards to see if Blue was following along. For a split second, I thought I saw him in the distance, running far behind me.

But then, my vision was suddenly covered in stars.

"Ouch!" I was suddenly sent flying backwards as I hit something hard in front of me. I gave a small yelp out of shock as I hit the ground hard. Dizzy from the fall, I sat up and rubbed my head gingerly.

"Hey! What's the big deal?" An angry shout from in front of me quickly snapped me out of my daze. Scared, I slowly looked up to see who was yelling at me.

A large, scary looking dragon loomed over me. Its entire body was covered with rough, blue – colored scales. Furthermore, the dragon had two sharp, menacing claws at the ends of his arms. Both of which were pointed at my face.

"I – I'm sorry," Terrified, I quickly apologized, trying my best not to burst into tears. It's often said that dragon Pokémon had the shortest tempers of all kinds of Pokémon out there, and I didn't want to be the one to confirm that belief, "I – I didn't mean to run into you! I wasn't looking at where I was going while I was running!"

"You better be sorry," he growled threateningly, "If you were planning on cutting in front of me, then you better prepare for trouble."

Terrified, I shook my head wildly. The dragon didn't look like he believed me though, and kept pointing his talons at me. I wanted to turn tail and run away, frightened by the scary Pokémon in front of me. But, right as I was about to scream and escape, a sharp, female voice suddenly rang out between us.

"Gabite! You cut that out, _now_!"

Surprised, both me and the dragon – Gabite – looked down at the source of the voice. Standing between us was a small, orange – shelled Pokémon. She had a large, oval shaped head and two beady eyes. Both of which were now glaring angrily at Gabite. As I looked up at the dragon, I was shocked to find that his expression had completely changed.

The little Pokémon opened her mouth, revealing a set of jagged teeth inside as she spoke to the dragon, "What do you think you're doing? Are you planning on ruining an entire month's worth of preparation before we even entered the town?"

"T – Trapinch..." Gabite looked almost frightened at the little Pokémon that was barely a quarter of his size, "I – I just thought she was trying to cut in front of us, like those Mankey from befo – ack!"

He was suddenly interrupted by a forceful glare from Trapinch. I watched, amazed, as Gabite physically recoiled and withered under Trapinch's gaze. After deciding that the dragon was suitably cowed, Trapinch turned around and addressed me.

"You ran into this big lug by accident, right?" She said in a kindly voice. I quickly nodded, wanting to clear up the misunderstanding as fast as possible. Trapinch gave me a toothy smile before turning around and glaring at Gabite again.

"Then it's not a big problem_, is it Gabite?_" Trapinch commanded, "She even apologized when she hit you, _didn't she?_"

Gabite, now thoroughly defeated, could only nod silently at the tiny Pokémon. Satisfied, Trapinch turned off her deadly gaze and faced me again.

"I'm so sorry about how rude my partner was," she apologized, bowing, "He's sorry too, _right?_"

"Mmrgh..." The large dragon grumbled and bowed his head for only a fraction of an inch. Another glare from Trapinch however, quickly made him bow down low enough that his snout touched the dirt.

"N – no, it's nothing," I stammered, a little embarrassed by the scene, "It was my fault, after all. I'm sorry for running into you, Gabite."

Trapinch raised her head and gave me another toothy smile, "You're a nice Pokémon, Eevee," She said, "Almost everyone else we've met just gets really mad at Gabite for being such a rude jerk, _right?_"

Gabite flinched as he rose from the ground. He crossed his arms and turned away from us in a huff. Trapinch sighed and shook her head before addressing me again.

"Don't worry about him," she said apologetically, "He's just really anxious about today, that's all."

"Today?" I asked, a little curious, "Is there something going on today?"

Trapinch gave me a surprised look, "You mean you're here, and you don't even know what's going on?"

I responded by giving her a puzzled look. Trapinch and Gabite both shared a confused glance at each other before addressing me again.

"Eevee," Trapinch waved her stubby little arms around, trying to gesture something, "Maybe you should take a good look around you first."

I followed the direction her little arms were pointing, and was immediately taken aback by what I saw.

It was a crowd – no, actually it was more than a crowd, much more. An unbelievably massive horde of Pokémon was gathered here on the field. I gaped in astonishment as the crowd of Pokémon stretched from the entrance of Treasure Town all the way to the horizon.

Standing at the forefront of the group were herds of Tauros and Boufallant. The strong, bull – like Pokémon were lugging large wooden caravans on wheels, while a group of Mankey and Primape energetically jogged along the caravans, carrying huge piles of wood and lumber with their strong arms. Furthermore, flocks of strong flying Pokémon also carried what looked like building materials overhead.

But what was behind the caravans was what really stunned me. Multitudes of different Pokémon lined up together as they slowly marched toward Treasure Town. I watched in amusement as a group of Surskit skated ahead of their Turtwig companion, who was struggling to keep up with the speedy little bugs. Then, I saw a pair consisting of a Numel and a Poliwhirl riding on top of a massive Onix as the three of them laughed at the many, many more Pokémon glaring at them from below.

There were so many different Pokémon congregated here that I felt my jaw drop. I've never seen this many Pokémon in one place before, let alone this many different types and species! I quickly turned to Trapinch, who was smiling at my astonishment.

"What is all of this?" I said in a hurried voice, watching several Pidgey fly overhead, "Why are there so many Pokémon here?"

"You really don't know?" Trapinch said, her voice filled with genuine surprise, "Well, where do I start?"

"How about you start walking before the group leaves us behind?" Gabite snapped in irritation as he watched several Aipom sprint past him. One cheeky Aipom stopped to stick out his tongue at Gabite, who growled back in response.

"Don't be rude, Gabite." Trapinch snapped back, "The least we can do is catch this Eevee up to speed."

Gabite opened his mouth to protest, but a quick look at the expression on Trapinch's face made him reconsider. Trapinch sighed and turned back to me.

"So!" She said, cheerfully, "Now that the _big baby's_ done crying, let me see how well I can explain this..."

"You're aware of that big storm yesterday, right?" Trapinch asked. I nodded, thinking back to when I had to run through Treasure Town during the worst of the storm yesterday.

"Well, apparently when the storm hit, it wrecked a lot of Treasure Town in the process," She pointed at the town's gate, which, upon further inspection, looked like it had a huge chunk torn out its side, "So a lot of Pokémon from neighboring towns are coming to help with rebuilding."

She gestured toward the front of the line, where all the caravans stood, "Since Treasure Town's such an important place, pretty much every settlement, village and city pitched in to help."

"I see..." I knew Treasure Town was a popular town amongst explorers, but I never really thought about how important it was to other cities and villages. Treasure Town was located in the center of a great frontier, right next to locales that held plenty of resources and valuables. I guess keeping good relations with Treasure Town was important to other villages and towns because of trade and other economic stuff...

"But that doesn't explain why there's so many Pokémon moving here though," I said, staring at the densely packed crowd behind Trapinch, "Unless they're all to here to help rebuild...?"

Trapinch gave a little dry chuckle, "No, if I think if they all came to help rebuild, Treasure Town would be destroyed in a fortnight!"

"No, Eevee, you see..." Trapinch stood on her hind legs and made a dramatic sweeping gesture, "Each and every Pokémon here are explorers!"

"What?!" I shouted in surprise.

"It's true," Trapinch said with an air of pride, "Me and Gabite here are also explorers. Team Sands, we've called ourselves."

"...I wanted to call us Team Claws..." Gabite mumbled when he heard that. Trapinch just gave him a bemused look and ignored him.

"You two are full fledged explorers already?" I said incredulously, glancing over at Gabite and back. Trapinch shook her head and gave me a sheepish grin.

"Well, no," She said while Gabite shrugged behind her, "We call ourselves Team Sands, but we're not actually explorers yet."

Trapinch pointed over to the entrance gate of Treasure Town, "That's why we're here. We want to become apprentices to a guild and learn how to become real explorers, and I'm willing to bet that that's why everyone else is here too."

"But...why are there so many Pokémon here?" I wondered. It's true that Treasure Town gets immigrants a lot, mostly newbie explorers who want to become apprentices, but it's never gotten this many Pokémon coming in at once before.

"Well, it relates to that storm yesterday again," Trapinch explained, "After the storm blew over, apparently it revealed a lot of new and hidden places to explore around Treasure Town."

"What?!" This was all news to me. How could all of this have happened while I was gone yesterday?

"Mmhm." Trapinch nodded, "Cliffs collapsed, caves exposed, forests parted, fogs defogged... stuff like that"

"Wow..." I was stunned. I never imagined that the storm would be able to bring so many new faces into town.

"Once news of all those new and unknown places broke out, everyone wanted to move to Treasure Town immediately," Trapinch said, "We both got super excited when we heard the news too, didn't we Gabite?"

"I didn't get that excited..." Gabite mumbled, shaking his head. Trapinch laughed and whispered to me.

"He's lying," She said, winking at me, "When he heard about the news, he woke me up in the middle of the night and demanded that we prepare to leave as soon as possible."

We both glanced over at Gabite, why was trying his best to look tough and uncaring, but the effect was ruined by the small blush on his face. Trapinch and I shared a knowing giggle, making Gabite blush even harder.

"So everyone here's looking to become apprentices?" I confirmed, looking around at all the Pokémon around us.

"That's what I'm assuming," Trapinch said, nodding, "There's a few experienced – looking faces strewn around here and there, but I'm willing to bet most of them are like Gabite and I: total novices looking to join a guild."

Trapinch grinned and leaned against Gabite's leg, who frowned and mumbled something about not being a novice. Trapinch responded by lightly nipping his ankle, making him yelp in surprise.

"So anyway, that's our story," Trapinch said in a muffled voice, "What about you, Eevee?"

"Oh, um..." Now that I think about it, where was Blue? It's been a while now, and I haven't seen him at all. Worried, I turned around and searched for the forest path behind me, only to discover that the path behind me had suddenly been taken over by a horde of Ponyta and Blitzle.

"Wha?" I gaped in disbelief. Where was the road? When did I get surrounded by all these Pokémon? Where was Blue?!

"It looks like line's moving again, Trapinch," Gabite growled, plucking Trapinch off his ankle and depositing her on his shoulder, "We'd best get moving now or else we'll be left behind."

"Hrm...you're right," Trapinch said, staring out over the crowd from her new vantage point, "I'm sorry Eevee. I'd love to keep chatting with you, but this oaf's got a point. If we don't get moving, it'll probably take all day to get in town at this rate."

"Oh, it's not a problem," I replied quickly, glancing over to the crowd of Pontya again, "Thanks for telling me about everything, Trapinch."

"Well, hm..." Trapinch pondered for a second, making Gabite grumble impatiently, "I have an idea! Why don't you come with us, Eevee?"

"Huh?" I said, confused. Trapinch pointed to the entrance of Treasure Town, which was nearly invisible due to all the Pokémon crowding around it.

"Like I said, it's gonna take all day to get into town if you take too long, and you're definitely going to take longer if you start from the back of the line," Trapinch reasoned, "So why don't you come with us for now? You can be an temporary member of Team Sands!"

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Gabite interrupted, glaring at her, "Who said you could just invite her into our team like that?"

"I said it was just temporary, Gabite," Trapinch retorted, glaring back at him, "_And don't you take that tone with me._ It's because of your short temper we're waiting here like this anyway."

Gabite opened his mouth to protest, but a quick look at Trapinch's face made him reconsider and grumble angrily to himself instead. Trapinch smiled victoriously and turned back to me.

"So what do you say?" She offered, holding out a stubby arm, "If you come with us, you'll get in quicker."

"Um..." I replied, a little taken aback by her offer. It was a generous offer, and she had a good reason for me to accept, but...

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to decline," I said, bowing my head down. Trapinch looked a little saddened at that, Gabite just sighed and shook his head. I quickly added, "It's not because of you two. It's because I've lost a friend around in the crowd somewhere, and I want to find him."

"Oh well," Trapinch said, sighing in disappointment, "I guess it's just gonna be me and Gabite then."

"I'm really sorry."

"Nah, it's not a big deal," Trapinch said reassuringly at me while waving a little arm, "I hope you find your friend, Eevee."

"Oh, my name isn't just Eevee," I quickly said, "It's Fée. That's my name."

Trapinch smiled at me, "It's a good name, Fée. I like it." She pointed at Gabite and then to herself, "His name's Lazur, and my name's Feldie."

"Trapinch..." Lazur growled menacingly at her. Feldie responded by nibbling his head, making him wince in pain.

"That makes us friends now, Fée," Feldie said, her mouth full of dragon scales, "I hope we meet again someday!"

"I hope so too! Goodbye, Feldie, Lazur!" I shouted at them as they walked away with the crowd. Then, I turned around and looked around nervously. I didn't know where Blue was, and now I'm severely regretting running off and leaving him alone in the forest earlier.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to look through the horde of Pokémon around me, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of his blue fur through the massive crowd. It simply wasn't possible. Between the amount of different Pokémon around, and all the dust being kicked up by said amount of Pokémon walking, I just couldn't see a thing.

"Blue..." I mumbled worriedly, "Where are you?"

* * *

"Where am I?"

Blue was lost. After walking through the forest for what felt like ages, he finally came out into a large field. Unfortunately though, it seemed like every single acre on the field was covered by Pokémon, making it incredibly difficult to figure out where he was and where he should be going.

Blue grumbled and crossed his arms in frustration. He watched as a crowd made up of Meditite and Bronzor slowly floated by, followed by several eel – like Tynamo and Eeletrik. Every once in a while, he spotted something brown waltz by, but every time it just ended up being something other than an Eevee. He sighed as a brown Vulpix walked by him, eying him curiously.

He figured that something big was definitely happening right now, and that everything was congregating at one place. Blue glanced over at the massive mesa in the distance. At the top of the great plateau, he could just barely make out the outline of what looked like buildings. Added on to the fact that he spotted a few Mankey carrying lumber and building materials, he deduced that at the top of the mesa must be where Treasure Town was.

Sighing, Blue shrugged at his own thoughts. Even if he had turned on all his deductive instincts, it still doesn't really help his current situation. He thought about cutting into the long line of Pokémon that stretched out before him, but a quick glance at some of the Pokémon, particularly the ones that were twice his size, made him reconsider that idea.

"Hey," he pulled aside a Geodude that was bouncing down the road, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Hands off, bud!" The talking rock snarled, pulling his arm out of Blue's grasp, "If you've got time to beg 'fer questions, then you'd be better off just waiting in line!"

With that said, he bounced back into the fold and vanished into the crowd. Blue sighed and shrugged.

Glancing over to the town again, he mused to himself about the possibility of climbing the cliff face to get into the town without waiting in line. He assumed that Fée must've already be in there, being that she was already a resident beforehand. But as he was entertaining the notion of climbing the sheer rock wall, a loud clattering noise behind him jarred him out of his thoughts.

"Make way! Make way!" A Tauros came stampeding down the road, dragging a rickety caravan behind him, "Heavy load coming through here! If you don't wanna be stomped on, get out of the way!"

Blue glanced over at the Tauros, then at the caravan it was dragging wildly behind it. It was covered with a thick, white cloth, making whatever was inside completely invisible to the casual observer. Then, he watched as the Pokémon in front of the Tauros quickly jumped aside as it charged down the road.

As he watched the Tauros charged ever closer to him, a nasty plot hatched inside Blue's mind...

* * *

After parting with Feldie and Lazur, I quickly moved away from the great horde of Pokémon and sneaked into the surrounding forestry around the town. Once I made sure no one was around, I dived into the copse again. I snaked through the trees, keeping an eye out for stray Pokémon who might've wandered in by accident. After a while, I reached the cliff below Treasure Town.

Looking up, I couldn't see the town through the canopy of leaves, but I could still faintly hear the sounds of Pokémon far, far above me.

"Hm...I haven't used this in a while..." I mumbled, scanning around the bottom of the cliff for what I was looking for, "I hope it's still here."

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I found it. A little inconspicuous bush lying against the rock wall. I ran over and inspected it. It looked undisturbed and intact. Sighing in relief, I gently pushed the bush aside with my paws and revealed a little hole in the corner where the wall and ground met.

"It's still here, thank goodness..."

It was a secret tunnel, obviously. I grinned to myself as I squeezed myself into the small hole. It's been so long since I've had to use this secret passage, that it felt almost nostalgic in a way.

I don't know who built this tunnel, or why, but it's been here for as long as I've lived in Treasure Town. Smiling mischievously, I thought back to all the times I sneaked in and out of town using this secret passage. It was like a little secret that only I knew.

I wasn't as small as I used to be anymore. Going through the passage wasn't as easy as it used to be, but thankfully, I wasn't large enough that it would've gotten me stuck. I thought about my size for a second, and sighed. Personally, I would've liked to grow a bit bigger, but my body stubbornly refused to grow no matter how much I tried.

Sighing again, I pushed that thought out of my mind and continued to crawl through the tunnel. Slowly, the path began to curve upward. I slowed down my ascent, cautious of slipping and then accidentally sliding all the way down to the bottom. Soon, after a few minutes of crawling around in the darkness, I began to hear the sounds of activity above me.

Eager to get out of the tunnel and back to the sunlight, I began to crawl faster. The sounds of Pokémon talking and walking got louder and louder as I neared the surface.

"Aha!" I cheered when I saw the exit. A tiny sliver of light was shining down from the ceiling of the tunnel. I scampered over to the light and flipped over on to my back. Then, I poked my head through the hole the light was coming from.

Leaves scattered all around me as I emerged from the tunnel. Looking around at all the bushes and flowers around me, I quickly recognized the place. It was the small, grassy garden that was in the shopping plaza! As I glanced through the bushes that surrounded me, I saw Pokémon walk around, chatting happily and checking out the stores.

"I'm in!" I whispered cheerfully as I pulled myself out of the hole. I replaced the pile of leaves that was covering the entrance to the tunnel and smiled to myself. It was a little strange to be cheerful about this, but I was back home!

I adjusted my bag around my neck and dusted any remaining dirt off my fur. Then, as quietly and inconspicuously as possible, I sneaked out of the garden and blended into the crowd of Pokémon.

"Come one, come all! We've got a big sale for y'all today here at Kecleon and Kecleon's wares! Berries! Orbs! TMs! You name it, we've got it!"

"Feeling parched from your long journey? Want to rest your legs after waiting in line? Come and take a seat here at Miltank's Milk Parlor! We have the best food around for miles, and probably the only place you can get food for miles!"

"Need a place to stay? Haven't quite decided on which guild to join yet? Don't fret! You can stay for as long as you want here at Kangaskhan's!"

I looked around in amazement as I heard store owners and shopkeepers shout out advertisements at the Pokémon visiting the markets. I giggled when I saw the two Kecleon brothers try to peddle their wares at a group of confused Pokémon, and smiled when I saw Kangaskhan and her child warmly welcoming several tired – looking travelers into her house. It was amazing for me to see all these new faces around in a place I've lived all my life in.

"Hey, isn't that Fée?" I turned around when I heard my voice be called by someone behind me. Suddenly, something small and blue jumped into my face, "It is! Fée! Hello Fée!"

"Aah!" I fell backwards as the strange blue thing began to nuzzle itself against my cheek energetically.

"Azurill!" I said happily as I pulled my young friend off my face. It was a small, blue – colored Pokémon with a smile that almost seemed too big for her face. Azurill wrapped her springy black tail around my paw and bopped me playfully over the head with the ball – like tip of her tail.

"Fée!" Azurill said, giving me a great big grin, "How have you been? Wasn't the storm scary yesterday? Where were you? Were you at home? Did you get wet?"

An overwhelming torrent of questions came flooding out of the little Pokèmon. I untangled her tail from my paw and gently placed her on the ground. She continued to giddily pile on more and more questions as she sat on her bouncy tail.

"Do you know why there's so many Pokémon here today? It's almost like a festival!" Azurill said, leaping up and down like a spring, "I was so surprised when I woke up today and saw a Steelix rumble by my window! A Steelix!"

"I bet that was pretty surprising, huh?" I smiled at the little Pokémon. Her eyes were practically glittering with excitement as she nodded happily.

"Yeah! Marill almost fainted when he saw it go by, but I wasn't afraid!" She said pridefully, "Then when I told Marill that I wanted to ride the Steelix, he fainted! Hee hee!"

"Poor Marill," I thought about Azurill's brother. He was constantly worried about Azurill's well – being to the point that he always looked like he was on the verge of tears.

Well, I guess I can't really say anything about that, after how much I cried yesterday.

"Azurill, where's your brother right now?" I asked, curious as to why Azurill was out alone, "It's not safe to walk around outside when there's so many Pokémon wandering around."

"Oh, we got split up a while ago," Azurill said, sounding a little worried, "I saw this big, big balloon floating up in the air and I wanted to go get it. Marill said that it wasn't a balloon, but it was so big and round and floaty, so it had to be one! So I bounced up and grabbed on to it with my tail, like this!"

Azurill demonstrated by bouncing up into the air with her tail. Surprised at how high she went, I quickly dove underneath her as she fell, catching her before she hit the ground.

"Oof!" While she wasn't heavy, catching Azurill still made me collapse on to the ground. Coughing from the dust, I stood up while she was still riding on my back.

"And then, when I grabbed on to the balloon, it turned around and looked at me!" Azurill continued her tale, while still happily bouncing on my back, "It said 'hey kid, this ain't a free ride!' in a scary voice and tossed me away!"

"What?" I turned around and stared at her incredulously, "You were thrown away?"

"Yep!" She said in a strangely glee voice, "It was so fun, flying in the air like a Pidgey!"

"I really feel bad for Marill now..." I shook my head in astonishment at her blitheness. I imagined Marill standing in the middle of the plaza, watching in horror as his sister was sent flying away. "He definitely fainted."

"Hee hee!" Azurill giggled as I said that, "Poor Marill!"

"Poor Marill," I repeated, sighing, "I guess we'd better go find him and see if he's alright."

"Aw, can't we play together for a bit before that?" Azurill whined, wagging her tail around like a big squishy flail. I shook my head, no.

"Not now, Azurill," I said, trying to reason with her, "We'll find your brother, and then we can play later, okay?"

Azurill made a pouting face, but reluctantly nodded anyway. Sighing to myself, I made sure Azurill was comfortable on my back before setting off towards the main plaza.

I guess I now have to find two missing Pokémon. I looked up into the cloudless sky, wondering where in the world Blue could be.


	7. Treasure Town, here I come!

**•   
Chapter 7:**

**"Treasure Town, here I come!"**

Blue peeked outside from within the rumbling caravan. From behind the thick canvas, Blue watched as the Tauros pulling the vehicle slowly trundle up the slope that lead up and into Treasure Town. Several other Tauros and Boufallant were already present and waiting in front of the caravan he was currently stowing away in.

"What do you see out there, blue boy?" A coarse voice rang out from behind Blue, "Are we in yet?"

"Not yet," Blue replied, closing the flap. He turned around and sat down on a piece of lumber as three voices simultaneously sighed from around him.

Blue glanced around inside the dim caravan. He wasn't the only one who thought about sneaking into town by hiding inside one of the caravans, apparently. Three other hitchhikers were already present within the covered wagon when Blue sneakily leapt inside. One of the hitchhikers crossed his arms and shook his head ifrustratedly.

"What a load of Tauros dung," He spat angrily, "And here I thought we were being clever by hiding in here. But look at this, we're still stuck outside like the rest of the fools back there!"

He snorted and leaned back against a piece of lumber, his hands behind his head. Blue glanced over at him. The Pokémon was monkey – like. He had a long thin tail that extended out from behind him and was coiled around his waist like a belt. Even in the dim light, Blue could tell that the Pokémon was fairly fit, with thick muscles that were just barely hidden by his orange fur.

His other two companions didn't resemble him, but they all shared a similar body shape. One Pokémon was sitting opposite of Blue, on the other side of the caravan. The Pokémon was taller than the monkey, and was covered in a thick layer of yellow feathers. Its feet resembled those of a bird's, complete with talons. It clacked its beak accidentally as it yawned out of boredom.

Their last companion was shorter than the other two, but had a much stouter body than the both of them. It had a large, thick nose and two long black ears that stuck out of the top of its head. It had an orange body with swirling yellow patterns on its belly. Blue watched as it nervously played with its curly black tail, pulling it and letting it spring back over and over.

"Pignite, cut that out!" The monkey shouted furiously, making his pig – like companion flinch and let go of his tail in surprise. "You know how much that annoys me."

Pignite's tail recoiled like a spring and slapped Pignite on the face, making him wince in pain, "S – sorry Monferno... I can't help it, I'm just so nervous!"

"What do you have to be nervous about?" Monferno snarled, making Pignite flinch again, "Just sit there with your mouth shut, just like Combusken over there."

"I think she's asleep, boss," Pignite mumbled, looking over at his feathered companion. Monferno swung his tail at Pignite and whipped him across the cheek, making Pignite squeal in pain.

"Then you go to sleep as well, coal for brains!" He said, standing over his cowering partner with his tail in his hands, "If you keep whining like that, you'll get us all busted!"

"Eee..." Pignite covered his face with his thickset arms, trying to protect himself from another whipping. However, seeing his partner cower like that only made Monferno angrier. The tip of his orange tail was beginning to emit small, yellow sparks.

"I said, shut up!" He raised his tail and prepared to strike at the shivering Pignite again. Then, right as he was about to whip Pignite, a blue paw stopped his arm. Monferno turned his around and glared at Blue.

"Cut it out," Blue said sharply, holding tightly on to the furious monkey's arm. He couldn't just stand by and watch anymore, "You'll get us all caught if you keep this up."

"This isn't any of your business, Riolu!" Monferno snarled, yanking his arm out of Blue's grasp. The air around the tip of his tail began to waver as more sparks shot out of it. Pignite squealed in surprise as one of the sparks landed on a piece of wood around them and began to smolder. He quickly patted the spark out before it grew any larger.

Blue glared back at Monferno, jabbing a finger at his chest, "Then go ahead, set this caravan on fire. We'll see if we can get into town on a burning wreck without getting caught."

"You..." The monkey balled his hand up into a fist. Blue also readied to throw his own punch. The two of them glqared at each other for a few seconds before they leapt at each other, fists drawn and faces snarling. Then, right before their fists connected with each others faces, a sudden explosion of yellow feathers erupted between them, halting both of their movement in an instant.

"You're being too loud, boss," Their last companion, now awake, stood between her raging boss and Blue. Her wing – like hands were outstretched and pushing against both of their faces. She stuffed yellow feathers into Monferno and Blue's mouths, muffling both of their their voices, "I can't even get any sleep with the racket you two are making."

Blue and Monferno both spat out mouthfuls of feathers as they coughed. The chicken – like Pokémon crossed her arms and gave the both of them a bored look, "Boss, don't forget the reason we're here. If you get us kicked out because of your temper, how're you going to face the boys back at home?"

"Rghh... Combusken..." Monferno plucked a feather off his face and shot his companion a dirty look. Combusken ignored him, closed his eyes and sat back down. Within seconds, she was clacking her beak again, soundly asleep.

"B – boss..." Pignite timidly said, tapping his two hands together nervously, "She's got a point... There's nothing to be gained by being kicked out now..."

Pignite squeaked and shut up as Monferno turned to glare at him, then he turned back to glare at Blue, who shook his head and shrugged. Feeling defeated by opposition on all sides, Monferno's tail stopped sparkling as he cooled down. Wordlessly, but still evidently displeased, the orange monkey sat back down and rested his cheek on his fist.

Sighing, Blue sat down as well. It was difficult enough to sneak into the caravan without being seen, but that he had to share it with a powder keg of a team made it even harder. He mused to himself about the possibility of changing to a different caravan, but one peek outside made him reconsider the idea.

"Looks like we're moving now," Blue announced as he watched the scenery outside, "I can see the entrance to town from here."

"Fan – freaking – tastic," Monferno replied sarcastically, "Maybe I'll go get myself something to eat once we're in."

"I'd like to eat something too," Pignite said in a hopeful voice, his stomach grumbling loudly, "I've been feeling mighty hungry for a while now."

"Who said you were going to eat?" Monferno growled, "You're going to go and find out where Machoke's Guild is and get us applied as apprentices. _Then_ you can start thinking about food."

"B – but..." Pignite sounded heartbroken when he heard Monferno's response. He looked like he was going to argue back, but he immediately clammed up when he saw Monferno's expression. Pignite sighed and hung his head in defeat.

"Machoke's Guild?" Blue queried as he closed the canvas flap again, "What's that?"

"Pfft, what rock did you come crawling out from?" Monferno snorted rudely, "Oh wait, you're a Riolu, so I guess you were probably living with rocks all your life!"

He cackled at his own tasteless joke. Pignite hesitantly laughed along with him, shooting Blue an apologetic look as he did so.

"I don't understand," Blue said truthfully, "What do you mean by living with rocks?"

"Oh, you're cracking me up! Ka, ha, ha!" Monferno cackled even harder at Blue's response, "You're such an idiot!"

Blue frowned. While he didn't particularly care about the Monferno's insults, he still felt incredibly annoyed that the cackling monkey knew something he didn't. He glanced over at Pignite, who looked unsure whether or not he should laugh along or to stay silent. When Pignite caught his eye, he quickly shook his head.

"I don't know anything...!" He whispered at Blue.

"Of course you don't! You're both idiots! Ka, ha, ha!" Monferno continued his maniacal cackling, completely misunderstanding Pignite's words.

Blue sighed out of frustration. He wanted to slug that monkey right in the laughing face. But Blue knew that if he knocked Monferno right out of the caravan, they'd all get caught immediately. Grumbling, he decided to just sit and endure it. It wasn't long until the caravan entered the town, all he had to do is keep his anger in check until then.

Monferno continued to cackle loudly as Blue and Pignite both shared a defeated sigh.

After what felt like an eternity, the uncomfortable caravan ride finally ended as the Tauros rolled past the large wooden gate that served as the entrance to Treasure Town.

Blue, Monferno, Pignite and Combusken all quietly peeked out from behind the canvas, trying to gauge the situation before doing anything. The caravan had finally entered the town, but one false move and they could be caught and thrown out immediately. Blue watched closely at the scenery around them for an opportunity to escape.

They appeared to be in a large, circular plaza. Blue watched in amazement as Pokémon of all shapes and sizes wandered around the plaza, filling the air with happy chatter and merriment. Aquatic Pokémon were splashing around in a large stone fountain featured in the center of the plaza, swimming and splashing happily as the fountain spilled refreshing water into the basin.

Surrounding the plaza was a bunch of small, squat buildings. Each and every one of the buildings looked like they had seen better days. Chunks were torn out of the walls, leaving ugly, gaping holes at the sides. Glass windows were shattered, and some of the doors had their hinges blown off. Shop signs were knocked askew, some even had letters missing from the sign. One unfortunate house even had its entire roof blown off.

But all the damage wasn't enough to stop the townspeople from continuing their businesses. Small, wooden stands displaying goods of all kinds were strewn haphazardly around the plaza, temporarily replacing the shopfronts. Storekeepers shouted loudly over the crowds, trying to entice Pokémon to come over and hopefully purchase something. Delectable smells were wafting into the caravan from some of the stands, making the stowaway group drool with yearning.

"Ohhh... that smells so good..." Pignite whined, his belly grumbling like an avalanche, "I wanna go eat so bad right now..."

"Just hang in there," Blue replied, his own stomach growling up a storm, "If we leave now, we'll definitely be seen."

"Ergh..." Pignite squealed sadly, trying to console his aching belly as much as he could. Monferno slapped Pignite over the back of his head, making him squeal again in surprise.

"You're not gonna get anything to eat at all if you keep whining," He snapped, "You have your job, and you're gonna finish that job before you can even think about pigging out, got it?"

"B – boss... that's too cruel..." Pignite sobbed, now trying to console his aching head. Blue sighed and shook his head. He made a mental note to grab something to eat for Pignite as well later.

"Hey, looks like we're leaving the plaza now," Combusken pointed out, pulling the other three's attention back outside, "Hopefully to somewhere a bit quieter."

"No one cares, Combusken," Monferno retorted, "They're probably moving the caravan over to someplace where they can unload the cargo inside here. So we gotta get moving before that happens."

Despite their grievances with the monkey, everyone nodded at his assessment of the situation.

"Once we're out of the plaza, there's probably going to be less bystanders roaming around," Monferno planned, "Once we're in a quiet spot, we'll leap out the back and split up. This way, if one of us gets caught, the rest of us will be able to get away."

"That's a great plan, boss!" Pignite praised, clapping his hands together in admiration. Monferno snorted and rubbed his nose with his finger, evidently pleased with Pignite's reaction.

Blue quickly peeked out through the canvas more time. The amount of Pokémon surrounding the caravan had decreased dramatically as the caravan entered a side road and out of the plaza. He turned his head back at the group and gave a quick nod.

"Alright," Monferno snapped his fingers and pointed out the caravan, "On the count of three, we jump out and scatter, got it?"

The four nodded and huddled around the exit to the caravan. Monferno began to slowly count to three.

"One..."

Pignite gulped as his stomach growled angrily.

"Two..."

Combusken's beak made another clacking noise as she released a loud yawn.

"Three..."

A bead of sweat slid down the side of Blue's face as he waited for the signal.

"Go!"

Pandemonium ensued as the four of them all simultaneously leapt out of the caravan. A Boufallant that was walking behind their caravan reared up on its hind legs, bellowing a loud cry of surprise.

"What are you idiots waiting for?" Monferno shouted as they landed on the ground, "Hurry up and run!"

Blue didn't even wait for Monferno to finish his command. He nimbly leapt on to the Boufallant's massive afro before it realized what was going on. Then, wasting no time, he jumped off the bull Pokémon's head and on to the top of the caravan it was carrying.

An entire row of white canvassed wagons stretched out ahead of Blue. To him though, it wasn't just a bunch of caravans. It was a road.

"See you guys later!" Blue shouted back at the group, "Don't get caught!"

The other three had already skedaddled out of the place, sparing no time to say goodbye. Blue grinned and began to run. There was no time to waste, he had to get out of here and find Fée.

"Alright then," He shouted as he leapt across the caravans, "Treasure Town, here I come!"

* * *

"Fée! Fée! Look! It's a big, big bell!"

I quickly turned around to see what Azurill was talking about. It was a massive Bronzong floating down the road, accompanied by a bunch of shiny Bronzors around it. Azurill kept bouncing up and down on my back, giggling madly at the Bronzong. When the Bronzong turned around to look at us, I quickly shushed Azurill and ran away.

"Aw!" I heard Azurill whine, "I wanted to ring the big bell! Fée, let's go back!"

"That wasn't a bell, Azurill!" I retorted, trying to put as much distance between us and the Bronzong as possible, "You shouldn't point out other Pokémon like that, it's rude."

"But I've never seen that kind of Pokémon before!" Azurill said. She kept tugging on my back, trying to make me turn around. I stubbornly continued to run, ignoring her pleas.

"Neither have I, Azurill. But it doesn't mean we can just stand and gape at them like that. Now stop pulling on my ruff and try to look for your brother."

"Pooh!" Azurill pouted as she stuffed her face into the back of my ruff. I sighed and mentally pitied poor Marill. It must be difficult to try and take care of such a rowdy little sister every day.

After a few minutes of frantic running, I stopped at the edge of the Founder's Fountain in the Main Plaza. Taking a break, I let Azurill off my back and into the water, where she started to splash around happily with her tail bobbing up and down in the water. I sat down to catch my breath while also looking around the plaza for any sign of Blue or Marill.

The plaza was so jam packed with Pokémon and caravans that it was practically impossible to tell if any of them were even here. No matter where I looked, I could only find unfamiliar Pokémon wandering around. There were Mankey and Primape repairing the buildings around the plaza that were wrecked during the storm. Pidgey, Taillow and other flying Pokémon were zipping around in the air, chirping with each other about this or that.

I sighed. There was no way I'd be able to find any of them at this rate. There was just too many Pokémon running around town. I leaned my head back against the fountain, letting the mist from the water cool me off.

"...stop nagging at me..!"

My ear twitched. For some reason, someone's voice seemed to stand out amongst the crowd. I pulled myself up and quickly looked around. Maybe it was someone I knew? Was it Blue? Marill?

"...agh, you're so annoying...!"

Frowning, I strained my hearing a bit more to try and find out where it was coming from.

"...I said..."

I closed my eyes and focused...

"_YOU'RE SO ANNOYING!_"

I screamed in pain as the Pokémon's loud shout nearly exploded my eardrums.

Suddenly, a massive shockwave came billowing from somewhere in the plaza, sending Pokémon all over the place flying into the air. The water from the fountain sprayed all over the plaza, drenching me and pretty much everyone else.

"Fée! Help!" Still wincing in pain from the noise, I quickly looked up and saw Azurill flying up in the air.

"Hold on!" I shouted as I rushed after her. I dived right before she hit the ground, turning around in midair as I did. She landed on my chest with a heavy thump, sending the both of us crashing into the cobblestone road. Panting on the ground, I held on to Azurill as tightly as possible, hoping that she wasn't injured in the fall.

"Fée, are you alright?" I looked down at Azurill's worried face. I quickly scrounged up a smile at her.

"I'm okay," I said reassuringly, "More importantly, are you hurt?"

"No, I'm okay," She said, making me sigh in relief, "Thank you Fée!"

She nuzzled herself into my ruff again, making me blush in embarrassment. I gently pulled the little Pokémon off my chest and put her back on my back.

Looking around in the aftermath of that strange shockwave, it appeared as though we weren't the only ones surprised by the explosion. The Pokémon that were wandering around the plaza or splashing in the fountain were all sitting on the ground, dazed and confused. The Mankey and Primeape on the buildings were raging around, screaming and hollering in anger at whoever it was that made the noise. All the flying Pokémon in the sky landed on the fountain statue or on the buildings, watching the scene curiously.

As for me and Azurill, we were also curious about what happened. I looked around, trying to find the culprit.

"Oh my gosh! Ooooh, look at what you did!"

"Oh... hehe, sorry."

It didn't take long to find out who it was. On the other side of the fountain were two Pokémon standing together. I climbed up on the side of the stone fountain to get a better look while Azurill bounced on top of my head.

"Loudred, you're going to get such a scolding from Chatot, eek!" It was an odd pair of Pokémon. One of them looked like a walking sunflower, and her partner had a gigantic mouth that pretty much took up his entire body.

"I said I was _SORRY_, didn't I?" When her partner said the word 'sorry,' another shockwave came billowing out of his mouth. I quickly snatched Azurill off my head and ducked below the fountain as the blast of sound came rushing by. I heard the flying Pokémon above us squawk and scatter when the sound wave struck.

"Oooh! Loudred!" I heard the flowery Pokémon shout, "You did it again!"

"Oh...hehe, sorry."

"Don't just repeat what you said!"

Hesitantly, I peeked out from behind the fountain again. The Pokémon that resembled a flower was smacking the other one over and over with her leaf – like hands. Her partner had his gargantuan mouth wide open and was laughing uproariously. Unfortunately, with every chuckle he made, another shockwave was sent racing through the air like a cannonball, and the cycle repeats.

I watched as a Mankey was knocked off a building, sending it through a roof that they just rebuilt. The two of them were becoming a nuisance, and it was starting to hurt other Pokémon. At this rate, the town will be destroyed again!

Taking a deep breath, I leapt out of my hiding place and shouted as loud as I could.

"_Please stoooop!_" I felt as though I sent out my own shockwave as I bellowed out my plea. Suddenly, everything was silent. The two of them stopped what they were doing and gaped at me. I stood there, in the center of the plaza, frozen in place from a combination of fear and embarrassment.

"Y – you're hurting everyone!" I felt my legs wobble as I continued to shout, "If you keep yelling like that, the whole town will collapse!"

The two Pokémon looked at me with astonished looks on their faces. I took a step back out of nervousness. I didn't know what was going to happen now. Everything felt like a blur as I stared at the two troublemakers. I was afraid, what if they got mad and attacked me? What if I made a horrible mistake? What if they drag Azurill into it? If only Blue was here! More and more frightened thoughts flew through my mind as the seconds ticked by.

"Oh... oh my gosh..." The one with the flower – shaped head covered her mouth with her hands while her big – mouthed partner closed his mouth and scratched his head sheepishly.

"Sunflora..." The big one turned to his partner and mumbled, "What do we do now?"

"I don't know, I've never felt so ashamed before! Eek!" She covered her face completely with her leafy hands and made a noise that sounded like sobbing.

I was taken aback by how they reacted. It was completely unlike what I was imagining. All the tension I was feeling suddenly melted away in an instant.

"What do you me – agh!" My question was cut off when the flowery Pokémon suddenly rushed up and hugged me.

"I'm so, so sorry!" She began to sob into my ruff, "I'm sorry that my big oaf of a partner hurt you!"

"U-uhm...!" I felt incredibly confused and surprised. What was I supposed to do about this?!

"Sunflora," Her partner walked up to us, wearing an expression that was both embarrassed and amused, "I think you're weirding her out. Also, you're suffocating her."

"Eek!" Sunflora quickly let go of my ruff. I coughed a few times, gasping for air. For a flower, she had a pretty strong grip!

"Oooh, I'm so sorry Eevee!" Sunflora apologized again, bowing deeply. Still coughing a little, I looked up at her and tried to give her a reassuring grin.

Her loud – mouthed partner shook his head and looked around. He tapped Sunflora on the shoulder and whispered something to her. They seemed to come to an agreement about something.

"Oooh, that sounds nice," Sunflora said out loud. She faced me and whispered to me, "Eevee, how about we take you to go get something to eat as an apology?"

"E – eh? Well..." Truth be told, I was getting a little peckish. I haven't eaten anything since I woke up this morning, after all. But, I can't just drop everything and go fill up my stomach now. I still have to go find Azurill's brother and Blue!

"I – I'm sorry, but I ca –" I began to say, but suddenly, Azurill leapt on to my head and almost made me bite my tongue.

"Did they say food?!" She cheered loudly, "Come on Fée! Let's go get something to eat!"

"Azurill!" I looked up at the bubbly blue Pokémon on my head, "We can't just go eat! We have to find your brother!"

"But I'm hungry!" She whined, bopping the side of my face with her bubble tail. I shook my head, making her roll off and on to my back.

"We have priorities, Azurill," I scolded, "Reuniting you with your brother is more important than eating right no –"

Suddenly, my stomach growled loudly. I felt a blush racing up into my face as Azurill tittered happily behind me. Sunflora and Loudred both looked at me with amused looks on their faces.

I sighed, "I guess... it wouldn't hurt to go eat for a bit..."

Sunflora and Loudred shared a wide grin while Azurill cheered on my back. I shook my head despondently and mentally apologized to Blue and Marill.

* * *

Blue found himself walking among a crowd of Pokémon in a lively part of town. Everywhere he looked, there were various wooden stands and tables strewn around on the sides of the road. Pokémon wearing aprons and other assorted clothing stood behind the stands and tables, peddling their wares and trying to attract walkers over to their storefronts. Blue wandered with the rest of the crowd, impressed and amazed by all the action going on around him.

"You there. Yes, the Riolu over there."

An odd, worldly sounding voice drifted over the crowd. Blue stopped in his tracks, recognizing the word 'Riolu'. He turned his head and saw a strange sight. Sitting at the side of the road was a suspicious – looking Pokémon.

The Pokémon stood stock still, like that of a statue. Its body was green, with two white, wing – like patterns covering its front. Its head resembled that of a bird, with two long feathers extending out from the back of its head.

Separating himself from the crowd, Blue cautiously approached the stranger. The Pokémon stared at Blue as he approached, never blinking and unmoving.

"You need not be cautious," It spoke without moving its beaked mouth, "I mean you no harm."

"And you are?" Blue said, unconvinced.

"You may call me Xatu," The statue – like Pokémon spoke in a vague voice that sounded neither male nor female, "I am but a humble observer of events. I see all that occurs in this town, and everything that surrounds it."

What the Pokémon just said immediately sent alarm bells ringing inside of Blue's head. He tentatively took a step backwards, worried that the Pokémon knew about his escapade as a stowaway.

"What do you mean by that?" Blue said slowly, preparing himself to run away at a moment's notice.

"Calm yourself, Riolu," Xatu replied sagely. It extended one of its white – colored wings in an apologetic gesture, "I repeat myself, I do not mean to harm you."

Still suspicious, Blue glanced around at where Xatu was sitting. The totem pole – like Pokémon was surrounded by strangely shaped knick – knacks and baubles. Ribbons, shells and wooden carvings were strewn all over the surface of an intricately detailed rug. Behind Xatu was a small, oblong tent that was lazily puffing out purplish – pink smoke from the tip.

"Then," Blue said slowly, "What do you want from me?"

"Its not what I want from you," Xatu gazed deeply into Blue's eyes. Blue took another step backwards, feeling incredibly creeped out by the bird's unblinking gaze. Xatu, however, continued to stare at Blue unflinchingly.

"But rather," Xatu spread out its wings, "It's what you want from me."

"What?" Blue replied. He was confused about what the bird was talking about. Xatu's face remained unchanged, despite Blue's puzzled reply.

"It was fated by the stars for you to find me, Riolu," Xatu announced cryptically, "Perhaps... it means that some of my mystical charms can assist you in your journey."

"Charms?" Blue looked down at the baubles around Xatu's feet, "You mean all this stuff around you?"

"Stu – stuff?" Xatu exclaimed, its former airy tone vanishing for a second. It quickly composed itself again and made a quiet coughing noise before speaking in its arcane tone again, "Y – yes... I believe my... stuff... is the key to your problems, Riolu."

Xatu extended both its wings wide in a dramatic fashion, "These glorious charms were hand crafted by legend and blessed by time! For generations and generations, these magical talismans were passed down by my ancestors, and now, I am giving the masses the chance to behold such majesty!"

"Great power courses through these items!" Xatu cried out loudly, making some of the bystanders turn their heads in surprise, "Such grand strength can only be found here, at the hands of the Xatu family!"

Blue was skeptical. Despite the praise that Xatu was lavishing on his wares, the baubles and gewgaws on the carpet simply looked like junk to him. Regardless, he kept his opinions to himself and bent down, picking up a small, pink ribbon.

"So, what does this do then?" Blue said, pointing at the ribbon. Xatu's eyes flitted down at the ribbon for a split second before returning his gaze back to Blue.

"Ah yes, the Aura Bow," It announced in an arcane voice, "Truly, one of the finest pieces of cloth ever weaved by Pokémon hands. It is a great work that was said to have been crafted by Azelf, the Embodiment of Willpower itself! Handed down to my ancestors as gift for their devotedness, it has been passed through my family for generations and gen – "

"Yes, and what does it do?" Blue interrupted impatiently. Xatu's eyes flickered with a spark of irritation before quickly returning to its usual sheen.

"Great works such as this ribbon must be given the proper amount of respect it deserves, Riolu," Xatu said, its voice tinged with annoyance, "But alas, if you do not wish for me to impress upon you the grand history behind such a powerful item, then I have no choice but to tell you what it does."

"Yes, thank you," Blue said, a sense of irritation was slowly growing inside of him. Xatu released a loud, disappointed sigh and continued. Its voice was notably less mystical – sounding now.

"The Aura Bow is said to grant the wearer a great amount of willpower," It said in an annoyed voice, "If a Pokémon were to wear this, they will find themselves filled with immense mental strength and fortitude! Great mystical power will flow through their body, strengthening every aspect of their physical selves!"

"So in other words, it makes the wearer feel stronger?"

Xatu sighed and shook its head, "If you must say it in such common terms..."

Blue held the ribbon in his paws and stared at it for a minute, much to Xatu's annoyance. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something glint off the sunlight. It was a small necklace that was made out of a small, yellow shell. A ruby – red jewel was set in the center of the shell.

"Ah yes, the Necklace of Memory," Xatu said, noticing Blue's gaze, "Never a more magnificent talisman has been created since its conception! The beautiful ruby present on the shell of an ancient Pokémon was said to have been donated to my ancestor by Uxie, the Pokémon of Memory itself! Passed down through my family through generations and generati –"

"So it helps with memory stuff?" Blue said, quickly interrupting another generations rant by Xatu, "Like, does it help the wearer regain their memories if they lost them?"

"Ahem..." Xatu faked coughing to hide it's growing frustration, "The power of such a charm cannot be quantified with such common explanations!"

"Then what does it do?" Blue replied impatiently, staring at the ruby as it shined in the sunlight, "You called it the Necklace of Memory, so it definitely has something to do with memory, right?"

"Hrgh..." Xatu's frustration was becoming more and more clear, "The necklace is associated with Uxie, the Pokémon of Memory! If that does not convince you, then I do not know what will."

Blue shrugged. He didn't recognize the name Uxie, and even if he did, he wouldn't know anything about it anyway. He picked up the necklace and held it up with the Aura Bow.

"I see that you are interested in these two items," Xatu said, its voice suddenly gaining an eager tone, "You are fortunate. At this moment, I am feeling quite generous. I will sell to you either the Aura Bow or the Necklace of Memory to you for a pittance of 900 Poké."

"...purchase? Poké?" Those words sounded foreign to Blue, "What does that mean?"

"I – what?" Xatu's façade was finally broken. His beak opened wide and his eyes bulged at Blue's puzzled expression. It spoke with an anguished, hoarse tone, "Are you...are you jesting with me?!"

"If that means kidding, then no," Blue said bluntly, "Can you tell me what this 'purchasing' thing is?"

"Oh ancestors, guide me..." Xatu mumbled, covering its face with its wing, "Give me the strength to endure this..."

Xatu spun around in place and dramatically swung aside the flaps into its tent. From within, it withdrew a wingful of small, golden colored coins. Turning around, Xatu presented the small coins to Blue, who regarded them with a curious look.

"Riolu," Xatu said in a tired voice, "This is the currency that we use here in...the civilized world. I understand it might be a concept foreign to a Riolu, but this is how we trade for items here."

"I see," Blue felt a little offended by the bird's remarks, but he decided to let it slide. "So in order for you to give me what I want, I have to give you 900 of this Poké?"

"That is correct." Xatu nodded and put the coins away.

"Hm," Blue thought about his options. He didn't entirely trust the shady bird, but the idea of a necklace that could help him regain his lost memory was tempting. He glanced at the ribbon and the jeweled necklace in his paws one more time.

"Alright then," Blue finally said, "Xatu, do you know where I can go get some Poké?"

"What?" Xatu said, surprised.

"I'll go get you those golden coins, and you hang on to these for me." Blue announced, handing the two charms back to Xatu, "I just need you to tell me where I can go get some Poké!"


	8. The strongest guild of the frontier

**•   
Chapter 8 **

**"The strongest guild of the frontier"**

Xatu gaped in astonishment at the Riolu in front of it with his arm outstretched like a beggar. It simply couldn't believe the gall of the blue – and – black Pokémon. Even if he is a Riolu, he should at least have a scrap of common sense! Xatu decided that he had enough. There was no reason, no gain to continue humoring the foolish Riolu. But, as he was about to shoo the Pokémon away, something interesting caught his eye.

The Riolu sported scars all over his body, one on both arms and several on his left leg. Not to mention, the scars looked relatively recent. Upon further inspection, Xatu noticed that the Riolu had a fairly fit figure. He was definitely one that has seen his fair share of combat.

'It's said that Riolu are known to be formidable fighters on the battlefield,' Xatu surmised internally as he gave Blue's body an intense inspection, 'With the way this one looks, it seems as though he's been through a fair share of battles.'

Xatu's shrewd mind quickly went to work at formulating a cunning plan, 'Perhaps, this Riolu could be my ticket to success... hm, hm, hm...'

"Hello?" Blue was confused and a little annoyed at Xatu's sudden silence, "Hey, are you awake?"

Blue waved a paw in front of Xatu's face, trying to get a reaction out of the unmoving bird. Suddenly, Xatu's wings shot up and tightly grasped Blue's paw. Blue, surprised, quickly withdrew his arm, accidentally smacking Xatu in the beak in the process.

"Whoa!" Blue shouted, "I'm sorry, are you alright?"

"Riolu!" Xatu suddenly shouted in a loud voice, "I have a proposition for you!"

"A what?" Blue stepped back out of surprise, but Xatu quickly followed him forward, kicking aside several baubles while he moved. Xatu grabbed tightly on to Blue's paw, staring at him with bulging eyes.

"A proposition! A deal! A trade, if you will!" Xatu said maniacally, "How about it, Riolu?"

"Hold on, hold on!" Blue shouted back pulling himself out of the crazed shopkeeper's grasp, "Slow down, what in the world are you talking about?"

"Hm, hm, hm..." Xatu chuckled darkly as he solemnly placed his wings on his chest, "It's simple..." He pointed at the two charms Blue had in his paws, "You're interested in those charms, are you not?"

"I suppose...?" Blue replied uncertainly. He was disturbed by Xatu's sudden change in demeanor, but he was curious about what the bird meant by 'a deal.'

"Furthermore!" Xatu opened his wings wide, forming some sort of odd looking pose that made it resemble a totem pole, "By your words, am I wrong to assume that you are hopelessly penniless?"

"If that means 'I have no Poké with me,'" Blue said bluntly, crossing his arms in annoyance, "Then I'm pretty sure I already told you that."

"Very well!" Xatu announced loudly, "Then I have a proposition for you!"

"Now you're just repeating yourself."

"Quiet!" Xatu squawked impatiently, "Now, listen up!"

Xatu spun around and quickly withdrew something from inside its tent. When it turned back around, it had in its wing a colorful sheet of paper. Blue eyed it curiously as Xatu handed it over to him to see. It was an advertisement of some sort. Crude drawings of strong, beefy – looking Pokémon were strewn all over the page. At the bottom of the page was a couple lines of messy writing.

"What's this?" Blue said, staring at the muscled Pokémon drawn on the poster with mild amusement.

"Read it, and you'll see," Xatu said, pointing at the writing at the bottom of the poster. Blue stared at the writing for a while, but could only manage a puzzled expression as he tried to read it.

"Uh..." Blue mumbled, trying to make heads or tails of the symbols scribbled on the poster, "Hm..."

"Could it be..." Xatu gaped at him in disbelief, "You cannot read?"

Blue scratched the back of his head sheepishly and nodded. Xatu covered his face with its wing and groaned in frustration. It snatched the poster out of Blue's paws and mumbled something rude under its breath. It smoothed out the poster and cleared its throat and began to read out loud.

"'Come one and come all! Machoke's Guild invites the strongest and the bravest to partake in a festival of muscle and sweat! Today, when the sun is at its highest, Machoke's Guild will be holding a grand battle royale at the main plaza! Show off your strength, skill and bravado in front of the strongest guild of the frontier!'"

"Grand battle royale?" Blue repeated questioningly as Xatu rolled the poster up, "What does this have to do with the charms?"

"Hm, hm, hm...!" Xatu chuckled and handed the rolled up poster over to Blue, "It has everything to do with the charms, Riolu."

Xatu pointed at Blue and stated dramatically, "You'll be partaking in this battle, Riolu!"

"Eh?" Blue yelled in surprise, "Why?"

"Consider it a trade of sorts," Xatu said, "If you battle in this boorish event and win, I'll give you one of these two charms as a reward. Is that fair?"

"I don't see how this benefits you in any way," Blue remarked, staring at the poster, "I have no problems with fighting, but I don't understand why I have to do this. Besides, shouldn't I be getting Poké?"

"Forget the Poké!" Xatu said hastily, brushing Blue's question off with a wave of its wing, "Consider this a favor for me. I – uh – really want to see you battle and win in this event, that's all."

"Besides," Xatu continued in a sly voice, "It'll probably take you about a week to scrounge up enough Poké to even afford those charms. This deal's completely in your favor, Riolu."

Blue eyed Xatu suspiciously. He was skeptical about the entire thing, since it sounded too good to be true. But, he didn't have much choice. Xatu had a point, he had no Poké, and had no idea how to even get some.

Blue glanced at the poster again and thought about it. All he had to do was go to this place and fight, right? And if he won, he'll get what he wants. When he thought about it that way, it didn't sound as bad. Besides, despite having multiple issues with his memory and knowledge, there was one thing he was quite confident of. His strength.

"Alright, I'll bite," Blue said, "I'll do this grand battle or whatever. Just promise me that you'll uphold your part of the deal, alright?"

"Very well then!" Xatu exclaimed, extending a wing out to Blue, "It's a deal!"

Blue nodded as he and Xatu shook on their agreement.

* * *

I sighed contently as I pushed my now – empty plate toward the center of the table. The food was absolutely delicious, especially spending an entire night having eaten nothing at all. Sitting back in my chair, I watched my companions as they ate their meals. Azurill was resting inside of a pie tin that once contained an entire apple pie. Sunflora was delicately slicing apart the berries on her plate into small portions with her leafy hands before eating them. Loudred on the other hand...

"_Burrrrrrp!_" He released an incredibly loud – and smelly – belch after he unloaded his entire meal into his massive mouth. I couldn't even tell what he ate before it all just vanished into his enormous gullet!

"_Loudred!_" Sunflora shouted as she glared at him, "You're being so disgusting, oooh!"

"Eheh," Loudred scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "It's just my compliments to the chef, ha, ha!"

I spotted said chef giving Loudred a dirty look from behind the kitchen counter. Feeling embarrassed, I mouthed an apology to him. But the chef glared at me as well before ducking back into the kitchen.

"Wow!" Azurill shouted gleefully, bouncing up and down in her little pie tin, "That was cool! Can you teach me how to burp like that, Loudred?"

"Heh. It takes years and years of training to get that sort of belch power!" Loudred said proudly and shamelessly, "It's a skill that not just any Pokémon can learn!"

"That's amazing!" Azurill sounded so genuinely impressed that I couldn't help but smile as I took a sip out of my drink. Sunflora just sighed and shook her head, covering her face with her leaves out of embarrassment.

At first, I thought Loudred was just a big, scary Pokémon. But, as I watched him earnestly try to teach Azurill the secrets of belching, I found my opinion of him changing. He wasn't just a big, scary Pokémon that shouts a lot, he was a friendly guy who, well, shouts a lot. I giggled as Azurill tried to do one of Loudred's belches, but only managed a quiet puffing noise from her mouth.

"Ooh, I just can't do it!" She stamped her feet inside the little pie tin out of frustration while Loudred chortled in his seat.

Amused, I plucked Azurill out of her pie tin and looked her in the eye, "Azurill, girls like us shouldn't be trying to make rude burping noises like that, right Sunflora?" I glanced over to the flowery Pokémon, who nodded in return.

"I don't care! I wanna burp just like Loudred does!" She pouted unhappily. I sighed in response and put her on the table. Sunflora offered her a few pieces of the berry she was slicing up, which cheered Azurill up almost immediately.

"Here Fée, you have one too!" Azurill said, handing me a berry piece with her tail. I thanked her and took it.

"Oh my gosh, you two are just too cute!" Sunflora said gleefully, clasping her leaves together cheerfully as she watched us chew on our berries, "You two are just like sisters!"

"Oh no, it's not like that," I blushed, feeling a little bashful, "We've been friends for a long time, that's all."

"Oooh, that reminds me!" Sunflora said as she handed another small berry piece over to Azurill, "Which town did you two come from? Spring Town? Post Town? Oooh, was it Seaside Town? I love meeting people from other towns! Eek!"

I shook my head and smiled at Sunflora. She must've assumed that we were a part of that huge crowd today, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Sunflora. But I've lived in Treasure Town pretty much all my life."

"Me too!" Azurill added, "My brother and I lived here for a long time too!"

"Oh my gosh, really?" Sunflora didn't sound disappointed at all, in fact, she sounded even happier, "Well, Loudred and I are also Treasure Townnites! Ooh, that's a good term! I should write it down later."

"So you're also from Treasure Town, eh?" Loudred chuckled, "How'dya feel when you woke up today and saw a ton of strange new Pokémon wandering around? I pretty much screamed in surprise when I saw that crowd!"

"Yeah, and everyone heard it too..." Sunflora remarked snarkily, glancing over at Loudred. Loudred just grinned and leaned back in his chair nonchalantly.

"I was really happy!" Azurill squeaked, eager to be a part of the conversation, "It was like being at a big festival! I saw so many new faces and lotsa cool and scary looking Pokémon!"

Azurill bounced over to Loudred and roared at him, pretending that she was a big, scary Pokémon. Loudred responded by pretending to be scared while Azurill continued her scary Poké – impression.

"I wasn't actually in town this morning," I admitted to Sunflora, "But when I got back, I was really surprised to find that I couldn't get back in without waiting in line, heh, heh."

"Oh my gosh! That must've been awful!" Sunflora said, looking concerned, "I can't imagine how tiring it must be to be stuck in that huge crowd all day, ooh!"

"Well, it wasn't all bad," I said, thinking back to earlier today, "I got to see a lot of new Pokémon, and I met a few new friends too."

Feldie and Lazur's faces came swimming into my mind. I wondered how the two of them are doing now, and whether or not they managed to get into town now.

"That's nice," Loudred said, gently nudging Azurill in the cheek, "Our guildmaster's always going on and on about making new friends."

"Guildmaster?" My ears perked up when I heard him say that word, "Are you two... explorers by any chance?"

"Yep! You're completely right!" Sunflora said in an excited voice, "Loudred and I are both explorers! Well, apprentice explorers, anyway!"

"I'm skilled enough to graduate anytime I want though," Loudred boasted, puffing his chest out proudly. Sunflora gave him a sly glance.

"Oho, and who's the one who came back the other day all beat up and exhausted during their last expedition?" She snickered as Loudred deflated like a balloon.

"T – that's low, Sunflora!" He said, his blue face rapidly turning red, "What about you? Don't forget about that time I had to go save your leafy behind when you got cornered by those outlaws? If it wasn't for me, you probably wouldn't have all your petals right now!"

"Oooh, you promised to never bring that up again!"

The two of them glowered angrily at each other while Azurill and I watched in amusement. Inwardly, I felt a little envious. From the sounds of things, they've gone on a lot of adventures already. Both with each other and by themselves. They sounded so carefree, so casual about the whole thing, and yet, when I was trying to go into the Beach Cave yesterday, I was pretty much ready to faint before I even entered the cave!

But that's probably why they're explorers already and I'm not. They've already taken the first step and became apprentices, and now they're confident and strong enough to go out and have adventures. I felt a small burning desire flare up from within me. I wanted to be like them, to be able to just casually go out and have adventures too! I wanted to explore just like them!

"Speaking of which," Sunflora snapped me out of my thoughts when she addressed me, "What are you planning on doing later, Eevee?"

"What am I doing later?" I quickly pooled together my options. I still had to find Marill and Blue, of course. But I also needed to find a place that could help Blue with his injuries. A sense of urgency rose from within me as I remembered about Blue's injured leg and arms, "I... I need to go find my friends."

"You need to find your friends?" Loudred repeated energetically. He pounded his chest with a beefy arm and grinned, "Well you can leave it to us! We're experts at finding things, right Sunflora?"

"That's right, eek!" She squeaked as Loudred suddenly grabbed her arm, "We'll help you as much as we can, Eevee! It's the least we can do to make up for what happened earlier."

"Thank you so much Sunflora! Loudred!" I bowed my head down gratefully, "I'm so glad I met you two!"

"So who are we looking for?" Loudred sniffed sheepishly as he got up from the table, "You got a name, a face, anything?"

"We're looking for my brother Marill!" Azurill said cheerfully as she leaped off the table and only my back, "He looks kinda like me, but bigger and rounder. He's also really scared all the time so he'll probably faint when he sees you!"

"I'm also looking for my friend, Blue," I added, "He's a Riolu, and he should be in town somewhere by now. We got separated in the crowd earlier, and I've been trying to find him ever since."

"Oh my gosh, a Riolu?" Sunflora said with a surprised look on her face, "Now that's a rare sight! I haven't seen a Riolu before, but it should be easy to find him in town, right Loudred?"

"I've met Riolu before on an expedition," Loudred commented, rubbing his large, circular ears thoughtfully, "I remember them being pretty rude, kinda unsociable Pokémon. They're also pretty strong too. One of them nearly knocked my block off when I approached them, heh."

"Unsociable? Rude?" I said questioningly. True, Blue was a little weird at times, but for all the time I've had to get to know him, he wasn't cold or distant at all. In fact, he was pretty nice and charming. I thought back to all the times he encouraged me and hugged me back at the Beach Cave. Suddenly, I felt a strange blush creep on to my face. I quickly brushed my face with my paws and tried to think about something else.

"I'm not saying your friend is like that," Loudred quickly replied, "I'm sure your pal is a pretty swell guy, to have a friend like you! Just because the Riolu I've met are rude and jerks doesn't mean your pal is, right Sunflo – ow!"

"Loudred, that's enough of that!" Sunflora scolded, smacking him angrily with a leaf, "Her friend is probably somebody really important to her, so don't go around saying bad things about him!"

"But I didn't..." Loudred mumbled under his breath.

"Anyway," Sunflora said, ignoring Loudred's gripes, "Loudred and I will go look around the shopping plaza and the guild areas while you and Azurill should stay within the main plaza. If we find your buddies, I'll have Loudred give you a signal."

"You wont miss it!" Loudred gave a big, smug smile. Sunflora sighed and shook her head.

"We'll meet you in the main plaza, by the fountain if we find either Azurill's brother or your friend, alright?"

"Sounds like a plan," I replied, giving Sunflora a smile, "Thank you for your help again, Sunflora. Loudred."

"Ooooh, it's no big deal," Sunflora said as she tried to cover her blushing face with her leaves, "I just love helping others, don't you Loudred?"

"Yep!" He shouted. The plate of berry slices that Sunflora worked on so intensively earlier was instantly sent flying by the shockwave created by Loudred's voice. The four of us watched, aghast, as the white plate went sailing through the air and hit the opposite wall of the restaurant. Where it immediately shattered into a million white pieces.

"Oops." Loudred scratched the back of his head sheepishly while Sunflora began to hit him over and over with her leaves.

"Loudred, you oaf!"

The chef was peeking out at us again, and he didn't look very happy at what we just did. I gulped and quickly turned to face everyone.

"We should get going now."

The four of us nodded and quickly dashed out the front door. From behind me, I could hear the chef yelling angrily at us.

I guess I wont be able to eat here anymore...

* * *

A crowd of Pokémon watched with bated breath as a group of Geodude slowly hovered into the air. Then, the Geodude clasped their hands together and formed a large ring with their bodies in midair. With a hearty bellow, the Geodude slammed down and struck the ground with a resonating crash. Dust and sand went flying everywhere as the Geodude impacted the earth.

"Woooh! Yeaaah!" The crowd of Pokémon around the Geodude all cheered loudly as the cloud of dust settled. In the center of the crowd was a large, rocky circle. Perfect for a combat ring.

One Pokémon stepped into the ring, silencing the crowd immediately with his commanding presence. The Pokémon was ripped, covered from head to toe with powerful, sinewy muscles, which he showed off by flexing in front of the entire crowd. Then, he struck a dynamic pose, pointing upwards to the sky with a clenched fist while kneeling as a legion of round, ball – like Voltorb exploded behind him, sending sparks and flame into the air. The crowd went ballistic, whooping and cheering for the brawny Pokémon like mad.

Said Pokémon grinned at all the attention he was getting. He stood back up straight and pointed towards the crowd with his well – toned arms.

"Dynamic!" He exclaimed showily as he made another flexing pose, "I, Machoke of Treasure Town, welcome you all to my grand festival of muscle and strength!"

His words were punctuated by a flock of Pidgeotto zooming over the crowd, scattering confetti and streamers from their talons. A crew of bug – like Kricketune began to play a lively melody with their claws, while a group of Minccinno and Cinccino sang along, serenading the crowd with a bubbly, uplifting song.

"Now, I know you're all ready to jump in and start the rumble," Machoke shouted over the cheers and the music, "Trust me, I am too!"

He grinned at the crowd and pounded his fists against each other, making a loud sound akin to an explosion.

"But the bean counters at my guild told me that I gotta announce this first," He shrugged with a bored look on his face, making the crowd laugh out loud, "Nothing I can do about that folks!"

A Mankey swung down from a nearby rooftop and landed next to Machoke. He handed Machoke a small scroll of paper and then leapt out of the ring and vanished into the crowd. Machoke unfurled the scroll.

"Ahem!" He coughed loudly, more so out of dramatic emphasis than actually clearing his throat, "Let it be known that all Pokémon battling here today will be under the watch of The Machoke Guild! Any Pokémon looking forward to apprenticing under our banner should try their best and battle as hard as they can! We don't care about winners or losers, we want you to show us your best stuff!"

He crumpled the scroll up into a small, papery ball and chucked it into the crowd, "And that's that! You wanna be apart of my guild? Then you get out there and battle as hard as you can! Show us that you have what it takes to be a part of _the strongest guild of the frontier!_"

He made another flashy pose in the center of the arena. The Voltorb crew behind him set off another series of loud explosions, which signaled the beginning of the festival of muscle.

"Now, let's begiiiiiin!" Machoke shouted and leapt high into the air as the crowd around him began to applaud and yell. He snapped his fingers while in midair, summoning a Staraptor to swoop down and snag him right at the apex of his jump. Machoke flew in a circle around the crowd, giving everyone an encouraging thumbs up before departing for his seat on the roof of a building.

* * *

Blue made a low whistle, impressed by the series of events. He and Xatu had walked from the shopping plaza over to the main plaza. Half of the entire plaza had been cordoned off just for this event. Tall scaffolds and platforms were set up for musical performers and other entertainers. The shop stands around the plaza had been repurposed by the guild, and were now selling memorabilia that advertised Machoke's guild. Blue wandered over to one of the stands and saw that the store was selling long strips of cloth that had Machoke's mug plastered all over it.

"Machoke Focus Bands! You'll never faint if you wear one of these babies!" A Machop manning the store boasted. He was wearing one of the headbands, "Only 700 Poké! Available for a limited time only!"

Blue scratched his head. How could a gaudy headband prevent someone from fainting? As he was trying to puzzle out the logic behind such a thing, he was suddenly forcefully pulled away from the stand.

"Riolu, we're not here to gawk or shop!" Xatu scolded angrily, "Now come with me, we're signing you up for the main event!"

"I understand, now stop pulling my arm!" Blue winced as he felt the scar on his arm twinge in pain as Xatu yanked on his paw.

Xatu lead him through the crowd and toward a large wooden stand at the side of the circular ring. Blue looked up at the stand. There was a large billboard attached to the top of it, displaying a rather surprisingly well – drawn picture of Machoke, and two other Pokémon beside him. Blue assumed that it must be his partners.

"Ah, excuse me!" Xatu said as they neared the stand. Two, girly – looking Pokémon stood behind a table, one clad in white and the other dressed in all black. Both of them were busy scribbling away at pieces of paper strewn all over the surface of the table. The white - colored one looked up at Xatu with a tired look in her eye.

"Are you another contender?" She said with an exhausted voice, "Name and place of origin, please."

"Oh no, no, no, no," Xatu quickly said, waving his wings wildly, "I'm not the one contending, it's this Pokémon here."

He gestured over to Blue, who was gazing up at the incredibly gaudy – looking sign above the stand, "He's the one."

"Is that a Riolu?" The Pokémon leaned over the table and stared interestingly at Blue, "Wow, I've never seen one before!"

"Kirlia, stop staring at the contestants and do your job," Her partner scolded as she pulled Kirlia back on to her seat, "You can ogle them all you want after the event's over."

"Who said I was ogling, Gothorita?" Kirlia said indignantly, "Don't think I didn't see you sneaking glances at that Gurdurr earlier. Honestly, I can't understand your taste."

"You're just too childish to appreciate the charm of a well – muscled Pokémon!" Gothorita retorted snobbishly "You must look past the surface and see the inner strength!"

"Oh yes, because gross, sweaty body builders are so good – looking inside as they are outside," Kirlia replied dismissively, "Now that Tyrogue earlier, that was a hunk!"

"Um...our registration please?" Xatu interrupted, "Can we get him entered in the event already?"

"Oh, right, of course," Kirlia quickly said, blushing, "Riolu, right? Where are you from?"

"Uh..." Blue mumbled. He didn't know what he should say. Would they accept 'from the ocean' as an answer?

"It doesn't matter where he's from," Xatu replied impatiently, brushing off the question, "Just write down Crystal Cave or whatever."

"Alright then, Crystal Cave it is," Kirlia said as she jotted it down on a piece of paper, "Mmhm, okay! All done."

The green – haired Pokémon bent down underneath the table and withdrew a small, rounded object. Blue noticed that it had the number '27' printed on its surface as she handed it over to him.

"This is your badge," Kirlia explained, pointing at the object, "You'll enter the ring and fight once your number is called. Your number's 27, don't forget it, okay?"

"Alright," Blue nodded as he held the badge up to the sunlight to get a better look at it, "Thanks, uh, Kirlia."

"Good luck!" She shouted as Blue and Xatu left to join the crowd of contestants, "If you win, don't forget that I was the one who signed you up!"

"Kirlia..." Gothorita groaned, shaking her head and covering her face with her hand.

* * *

"Contestants number 10 and 56, please enter the ring!"

Two shadows flew out of the crowd and landed inside the arena. One of them had a short, lanky figure. His arms and waist were wrapped with faded white bandages, and he was wearing small, brown shoes on his feet. On his chest was a gleaming white badge that had the number 10 printed on it. The Pokémon glared at his opponent as he cracked his knuckles menacingly.

Standing opposite of contestant 10 was a similarly short, but muscular Pokémon. He resembled a small, child – sized panda. He sneered at the lanky Pokémon and played with the tiny leaf that he stuck in his mouth.

"Tyrogue from Pokémon Square and Pancham from Unity Town," The announcer was a Buneary floating in the air, holding on to a Drifloon. She looked down at the two contestants standing in the ring and said, "Are you two ready?"

"I'm ready." Tyrogue announced, taking up a fighting stance.

"Let's go get this over with already!" Pancham shouted, tapping his feet against the ground impatiently, "Let's go!"

"Alright, both fighters ready!" Buneary raised her left paw – the one that she wasn't using to hold on to the balloon Pokémon – and swung it down, "And begin!"

Once he heard the signal, Tyrogue charged toward Pancham at a blisteringly fast speed. He drew back his right fist, readying himself to punch the black and white Pokémon right in the face. The crowd cheered loudly at the Tyrogue's daring move.

But suddenly, right before Tyrogue's attack landed, he froze in midair. The cheers faded as everyone watched Tyrogue crumple on to the ground, stunned. Pancham snickered and moved back a step, letting the lanky Pokémon fall down on to where he was standing.

"What happened?" Asked several members of the audience. Pancham, however, wasn't interested in answering any questions and instead, leapt forward with his arm drew back.

"Hya – ha!" He shouted – half laughing and half howling – as he thrust his arm forward, right at Tyrogue's fallen form. However, right before the panda's punch struck, Tyrogue's hand suddenly shot up and grabbed Pancham's fist, stopping his attack

"That was a dirty trick," Tyrogue snarled, his face dirty from hitting the ground, "I wont fall for that again!"

"W – wait!" Pancham said in a scared voice, the leaf slipping off his lips, but Tyrogue had already gotten back up on his feet. Swiftly, Tyrogue yanked on Pancham's fist and pulled him off the ground, flipping him into the air helplessly.

Tyrogue watched as Pancham flailed wildly in the air for a second. Then, right before Pancham hit the ground, he jumped toward the panda with his right foot outstretched. He crashed into Pancham in midair, his foot digging itself deep into Pancham's side. Pancham was sent flying over the crowd as Tyrogue deftly rebounded off Pancham's body. Tyrogue stood up tall and struck a victorious pose as a crashing noise was heard in the distance.

"A – ah..." Buneary and Drifloon gaped at the unconscious Pancham lying in a small crater beside the crowd. Buneary quickly recomposed herself and announced, "Pancham has fainted! Our first victory goes to contestant number 10: Tyrogue from Pokémon Square!"

"Wooooh! Yeaaah!" The crowd went wild as they cheered for their first victor. Tyrogue walked out of the ring in a dignified fashion as a couple of Audino rushed past him to go resuscitate the unconscious Pancham.

"Now that was exciting!" Buneary exclaimed loudly, "But there's more to come! Let's welcome our next contestants...!"

* * *

"That was a pretty impressive move he did there, don't you think? Quickly paralyzing that Tyrogue with a forceful leer to stop his attack in midair."

"Ha ha!" Machoke laughed, "Too bad he underestimated Tyrogue's spirit! I keep telling ya, Hariyama, that guts and valor always triumph over dirty tricks or cunning plans!"

The massive, hulking Pokémon nodded. He crossed his arms as he sat next to Machoke, staring intently at the ring below them. He looked over the crowd of contestants standing at the side of the ring, all of them waiting for their chance to duke it out in front of the crowd.

"Any Pokémon catch your eye yet?" Hariyama asked. Machoke grumbled and cupped his chin.

"It's too early to tell," He said, shrugging his muscled shoulders, "All of them have potential. But what we want are the strongest, the bravest and the best of the best!"

"Of course," Hariyama replied, having heard the same speech before a million times, "I suppose we'll find one eventually."


	9. A high stakes game

**• ****  
Chapter 9:**

**"...a high stakes game..."  
**

"Wow... what's going on here?"

After we parted ways with Loudred and Sunflora, Azurill and I resumed our search for my friend Blue and Azurill's brother, Marill. While Loudred and Sunflora went to go look around the guilds and shopping districts, Azurill and I wandered back to the main plaza. We were suddenly greeted by cheering crowds, loud music and a whole lot of yelling.

"Is there an event going on?" I wondered aloud as I stared at the sight in front of us. All the Pokémon in the crowd were standing in a big circle around something that we couldn't see. Wooden stands and signs were erected around the place, but I couldn't make out what was written on them from where we were standing.

"I can't see anything!" Azurill balanced on her tail and tried to peer over the heads of the Pokémon in the crowd, "I wanna know what's going on!"

"Maybe we should go somewhere else," I said, glancing uneasily at the wild crowd, "I don't think Marill would be here. It's too loud and crazy for someone like him."

"Mrrgh...!" She pouted angrily as she leaned left and right, trying to peek past the crowd to no avail. I sighed and reached forward to put her back on my back, but then, to my horror, she suddenly bounced away from my paws and toward the crowd.

"I'm going to get a better look!" I heard her shout back at me.

"Azurill, wait! Don't get separated...!" By the time I started to warn her, she had already disappeared from my sight. I covered my mouth in shock.

She was so small, what if a Pokémon accidentally hits her? Or worse, steps on her?! All sorts of horrible thoughts came into my head as I fretted out of worry.

"Azurill!" I shouted out loud, but my voice was quickly drowned out by the cheers around me. I swung my head left and right, hoping to catch sight of her bouncing blue tail, but all I could see were the various unfamiliar Pokémon around me. I continued to weave around the bystanders, constantly yelling out Azurill's name in hopes that she'll hear it.

"Ooh..." I had no choice, I had to find her before she gets hurt! Taking a deep breath, I ran into the crowd after Azurill.

* * *

"Contestants 27 and 15, please enter the ring!"

Blue's ears perked up when he heard his number being called. He stood up from the rock he was sitting on and stretched out his arms and legs in preparation for his bout. Xatu, the totem pole – like bird walked up to him, wringing its wings together worriedly.

"What's with that look?" Blue said as he stretched out his arms and legs, watching Xatu fidget nervously, "You look like you have bugs crawling all over you."

"Hush, Riolu," Xatu replied, glancing around him with a worried expression, "You remember our deal, right?"

Blue nodded. All he had to do was get in the ring and win a few battles, and he gets a gift from the creepy bird. It didn't sound complicated or difficult, which was why Blue accepted it in the first place. Xatu nodded back and gave a big sigh.

"Alright," The bird said in a relieved tone, "You go off and fight. I'll have to be somewhere else for a moment. There's something of import that I must attend to."

"You wont be watching me fight?" Blue said, feeling oddly disappointed.

Xatu shook its head, "Although I may not be by your side," It said in a mystical, albeit forced sounding voice, "Let it be known that I – as well as the spirits of my ancestors – will support you in your battles."

"Sure, why not?" Blue shrugged, feeling skeptical, "The more the merrier, I suppose."

"Right, off you go then," Xatu hurried, pushing him toward the ring with its wings, "Be sure to win, remember that!"

"No need to remind me," Blue retorted, cracking his knuckles confidently, "I wont lose."

"Right, right..." Xatu replied, sounding a little uncertain despite Blue's confidence, "Good luck then."

Blue turned and nodded to the totem pole bird. After Blue vanished into the crowd, Xatu sighed and quickly scampered in a direction away from the crowd.

* * *

"Azurill?" I continued to shout futilely. My throat was getting sore, and I was coughing from dust getting into my mouth, but I continued to keep yelling out her name, "Azurill, where are you?"

The crowd surrounding the plaza was so dense and so loud that I felt as though my eyes and ears were quickly becoming worthless. Feeling a little dizzy from the noise and action around me, I ducked out of the crowd and into a less populated area of the plaza.

I sat down next to the Founders' Fountain to catch my breath. I shook some dust off my fur and rubbed my eyes, which were beginning to get irritated by all the dust. I flipped open my bag and checked to see if my belongings were still inside.

I sighed in relief as I saw my precious treasure gleam dimly inside the cloth bag. Sitting next to my treasure was a small package of food and berries that I saved from my meal at the restaurant. I planned to give them to Blue once I found him, since he probably hasn't eaten anything since we left the Beach Cave.

"...playing a high stakes game, you know that?"

My ears, although sore and ringing from all the noise, suddenly picked up a strange, sly sounding voice apart from the crowd. It came from the other side of the Founders' Fountain, just out of my line of sight.

"I'm aware of the stakes!"

Another voice rang out. This time, I recognized the speaker. Cautiously, I closed my bag and poked my head around the side of the Founders' Fountain. There, standing in the shade created by the fountain statues, and almost completely hidden from sight, stood an odd group of Pokémon.

The group mostly consisted of Meowth, but standing at the head of it all was a large, sleek – looking Persian. All of the cats were holding a gleaming, golden coin in their paws.

I turned my gaze toward who the cats were all looking at, and had to quickly stifle a gasp. It was that odd shopkeeper from the shopping district, the one that sold all sorts of odd trinkets, Xatu. The tall, bird – like Pokémon was standing in front of the entire crowd of Meowth, looking scared out of his (her?) mind.

"I must admit, I was... surprised when you sought us out of your own volition," The Persian, who I assumed to be the leader of the clan of Meowth, deftly juggled his coin between his paws as he spoke to Xatu, "I had assumed you had given up on our deal, prophet."

The Persian flicked the coin up into the air and caught it as it fell down. He held the sparkling coin up against Xatu's beak, waving it back and forth in a playful fashion, as if he was toying with him.

"I... I didn't give up on the deal, Persian," Xatu said in a quiet voice as he brushed the coin out of his face, "I see all, don't you remember? I see our deal being successful for me!"

"Oho? You say you _saw _something, did you, prophet?" Persian said with a mocking sneer while the rest of the Meowth began to snicker. Xatu appeared to shrink as he was faced with the cats' laughter, "I suppose that would explain why you're so... eager... to gamble on such lopsided odds..."

I watched as Xatu quivered. Whether it was out of fear or anger, I didn't know. But he remained silent as the Persian continued to speak.

"Still, I'm not one to pass up such a delicious morsel such as this," Persian raised his head and licked his lips, "if you're willing to play... prophet... then I will be glad to accommodate you."

Suddenly, faster than my eyes could react, Persian's paw was hovering in front of Xatu's beak. The coin had vanished, and in its place was a set of sharp, dangerous claws. I watched in fear as the cat's claws hovered dangerously close to Xatu's face, threatening to cut him at any moment.

"Be warned though, prophet... If your gamble does not succeed..."

Xatu gulped audibly as he watched the claws inched ever closer.

"Then not even your generations and generations of ancestors can help you..."

Persian's claws suddenly retracted and he backed off, making both Xatu and I sigh with relief. The crew of Meowth all grinned widely at each other and began to snicker loudly. Persian produced his golden coin again and flipped it into the air.

"I wonder, prophet," Persian said in a darkly playful voice, "I wonder if you can truly _see_ the future, heh heh..."

He flicked the coin over toward Xatu, who caught it with its wing, "That coin shall be the symbol of our deal. If your little blue friend is as good as you assume, then consider it yours. However, if the opposite is true, then I must ask you to return that coin... and more..."

The Meowth began to snicker even louder as Xatu nervously looked at the coin. Persian held up a single paw and silenced his crew.

"Good luck, prophet."

The group of cats turned around and walked away. A few Meowth turned around as they retreated, making taunting faces at the frightened bird standing alone in the shadows. Despite how tall Xatu was, in the wake of what just happened, he looked as though he was as small as a Pidgey. Even though I knew it was none of my business, I wanted to go out and ask him if he was alright. But as I was deliberating whether to show myself or not, Xatu suddenly ran off in the opposite direction, completely missing me.

Perhaps it was for the best, I thought. I've never seen that crowd of Meowth in town before, and I've also definitely never seen that scary Persian ever in my entire life. My gut told me that associating with them was dangerous, and that I should just leave and push that entire scene out of my memory.

But the sight of Xatu, whom I've always known to be proud, if not a little strange, running away like a frightened child made me shudder a little inside.

* * *

Blue ducked low to avoid another straight punch from the Mienfoo . From his lowered position, he tried to counter the attack with a right uppercut. However, his opponent was too quick, and deftly avoided his wild swing by simply jumping back. While Blue was recovering from his failed attack, the Mienfoo launched himself off the ground and pounced forward, foot first.

"Guaagh!" Blue tried to leap away to safety, but a sudden spasm of pain from his right leg prevented him from moving. As a result, he took a heavy blow to the chest, knocking the air out of his lungs and sending him skidding backwards. Miraculously, Blue managed to stay on his feet. He clutched his chest, wincing as he felt a bruise forming.

"Hyah!" The Mienfoo shouted a loud battlecry as he mercilessly launched another high – flying kick at the injured Riolu. Blue desperately raised up his arms to block the blow. But it was futile, as the force from the kick simply blew his arms away, forcing him backwards another few paces as his injured chest was revealed. The Mienfoo smirked as he saw the red target painted on his chest, and prepared to do another flying kick.

Blue, realizing that he was now in severe danger, quickly tried to raise his arms again, but blocking the previous kick left them numb and temporarily paralyzed. Gritting his teeth, he watched as the Mienfoo crouched down in preparation for the finishing blow. The next second, the Mienfoo rocketed forward, his eyes glinting with the prospect of victory in front of him.

There was only one chance, and Blue couldn't afford to give it up. Right as the Mienfoo's foot was about to reach him, Blue poured every remaining drop of strength he had into his legs and kicked off the ground. But it wasn't enough, he still couldn't muster enough power to jump, and ended up awkwardly tossing himself to the side like a rag doll.

But it was enough. The Mienfoo's kick just barely missed his target, and ended up slicing through the air. The sheer power that the Mienfoo put behind his finishing blow carried him past the fallen Blue and sent him spiraling through the air uncontrollably. A second later, he violently crashed into the dirt in an awkward heap.

Despite his bones and muscles screaming in abject pain, Blue forced himself back on to his feet. He took a single glance at his dazed opponent. He didn't have much time before the Mienfoo recovered. Blue clenched his right fist and drew it back like a bow and arrow. He charged forward, ignoring the cracking and popping noises his legs were making. He had only enough strength left for one more blow, he had to make it count!

"Take this!" Right as he reached the Mienfoo, he slammed his left foot hard on to the ground, forcing himself to a sudden stop. Using the remaining momentum he had left, Blue launched his right fist forward like a cannonball. He heard a satisfying _crunch_ as his fist smashed squarely into the Mienfoo's surprised face. Suddenly, the Mienfoo was airborne again.

_Crash!_ The mouse – like Pokémon found himself lying in a crater of his own making. He groaned in pain and attempted to push himself off the ground. But whatever remaining strength he had left quickly fled his body, causing his arms to wobble and ultimately forced him to flop back to the ground, unconscious. A group of Audino hastily charged into the ring and surrounded the Mienfoo.

"_Uoooooh!_" The crowd cheered wildly as the Audino waved their arms, signaling that the Pokémon was unable to battle any more. Blue breathed deeply as he raised his right arm in victory. The crowd cheered and applauded again as Blue slowly made his way out of the ring.

"And the winner is... contestant 27, Riolu from Crystal Cave!" The Buneary floating above the battlefield announced, "Congratulations!"

It was a hard won fight. Blue staggered out of the ring and into the crowd. A few of the Pokémon in the crowd congratulated him and wanted to speak with him about his battle. Blue, however, ignored them and pushed his way out of the crowd. He wanted to find somewhere quiet and peaceful so he could tend to his wounds.

But, right as he was about to exit the crowd, he suddenly tripped on something underneath him and painfully slammed into the dirt.

"Gah..." He groaned and pushed himself off the ground. He gingerly rubbed his now – aching nose and looked down at what he had tripped on.

Blue saw a pair of blue colored balls attached to each other by a black string. He grumbled as he leaned down to pick up the odd toy, but right as his paw was about to touch it, the ball twitched and rolled away on its own. Startled, Blue withdrew his arm and stared warily at it.

"Ow, ow, ow..." The ball spoke in a youthful, almost childish voice. She rolled itself upright, revealing two tiny feet underneath her. Blue leaned over to the other side of the ball, curious about who she was. He found himself staring into a pair of teeny – tiny eyes as he did so.

"Eeep!" The small ball – like Pokémon bounced backwards, squeaking in surprise. Then, without warning, she hopped on to her feet and suddenly dashed away with surprising speed.

"Hey, wait!" Blue shouted as he quickly got back on his feet. Blue chased after the tiny Pokémon, but his accumulated injuries reduced his speed to a middling pace, allowing the Pokémon to gain a substantial lead.

Eventually, the chase lead the two of them back into the crowd. Blue struggled to keep up with the little blue speed demon as she deftly weaved through the legs of the Pokémon in the crowd. He watched, impressed, as the little girl deftly jumped over an Ekans' tail, swiftly slid under a Tropius and effortlessly dodge past a group of sticky Silcoon.

Blue didn't have quite as much luck as it did. He was snarled at when he accidentally trod on the Ekans, had bananas thrown at him as slammed into the Tropius, and was slowed down even further as several Silcoons got stuck on him. Although he was impressed by the little Pokémon's nimbleness, he wished that the little thing would slow down.

"Aaiiee!" Then, as he was trying to remove the sticky cocoon Pokémon from his limbs, Blue heard the little girl utter a shrill cry. Blue hastily tore the last angry Silcoon off his leg and chased after the scream.

"I'm sorry!" Blue heard the girl scream as he ran out of the plaza into an isolated side road. He saw the little Pokémon lying on the ground, trembling in fear and trying to cover her face with her bulbous tail.

Looming over the girl was a larger Pokémon. It had a wide, bulgy yellow body and a long, snout – like nose. The Pokémon was watching the little girl menacingly with its two, squinted eyes. The trembling girl cried out in fear as her assailant reached out to grab her with a pudgy arm.

"Get away from her!" Blue shouted loudly as he forced himself in between the two, shoving away the Pokémon's groping arm. He stood in between the crying girl and the yellow Pokémon with his fists drawn, daring her assailant to come any closer.

"Hey now..." The Pokémon spoke in a nasally, drawling voice, "That little girl ran into me. Can't you see the bruise she left on my leg?"

He pointed at his brown – colored leg. True to his words, a small red bruise was present on his lower leg. Blue, however, just shook his head and continued to glare at the snouted Pokémon.

"And your point?" He shot back, "It's just a little girl, and it was an accident."

"She hurt me," The Pokémon replied menacingly, "What if it was a serious injury? What then? She'll have to repay me somehow..."

"It's too bad it wasn't," Blue retorted angrily, making the yellow Pokémon narrow his already – tiny eyes, "She apologized already, so how about you leave her alone?"

"Oh, and what makes you think you can decide that for me, Riolu?" He said in a threatening voice. He glanced at the wounds and bruises that covered Blue's body and sneered, "You look like you're about to fall apart at any moment..."

"Try me then," Blue dared as he pointed one of his fists directly at the Pokémon's long noise, "We'll see who falls apart first, me or you."

Blue hoped the bluff would work. His body was screaming in pain. His muscles and bones were aching, and it felt like his nerves were on fire. But, as he quickly glanced down at the little Pokémon hiding between his legs, he knew he couldn't just back off. There was no way he'd allow this creep to have his way!

The Pokémon stared warily at Blue's outstretched fist, then at his determined face. After deliberating for a second, he took a step back and said, "Tch... you're not worth the trouble..."

"Don't be mistaken that you've won though..." The yellow and brown Pokémon glanced down at the little girl hiding behind Blue's legs and smirked meaningfully, "I don't forget grudges easily..."

"Get out of here!" Blue shouted angrily, drawing his fist back as emphasis. The yellow – colored Pokémon just snorted at Blue contemptuously and slowly walked away, vanishing behind a building.

Relieved that he was gone, Blue relaxed his fists and dropped his arms. He looked down at the tiny Pokémon, who was trembling fearfully with her eyes shut tight. She had tightly wrapped her long black tail against his right leg for support. Blue leaned down and gently prodded her trembling head with a finger.

"Hey now, don't cry," Blue said in a gentle voice. The little girl timidly opened one of her eyes. She looked around them, still terrified. Blue patted her head comfortingly and smiled at her, "It's alright now. You don't have to be scared, I got rid of the bad guy."

Hesitantly, the little Pokémon slowly untangled her tail from Blue's leg and backed up a little. Blue bent down on to his knees and continued to comfort the scared little girl by patting her head.

"T – thank you mister..." She said quietly, giving Blue a small smile.

"It's nothing," Blue replied nonchalantly, grinning back, "Are you alright? Did the bad guy hurt you?"

She shook her tiny head, "No, but he was really, really scary looking..."

You don't have to worry about that anymore. Just forget about that gross looking guy now, alright? You'll feel better that way."

The little girl giggled when Blue insulted the Pokémon. She reached up with her long tail and wrapped it around his paw affectionately.

"So what's your name?" Blue asked as he gently lifted the girl up with his arm, letting her hang upside down by her tail. She giggled as she swung back and forth on his arm like a pendulum.

"My name's Azurill," Azurill said as she nimbly swung herself on top of Blue's paw. She gave him a big smile as she balanced delicately on top of his arm, "What's yours?"

"Well, everyone seems to be calling me Riolu lately," Blue remarked wryly as he lifted Azurill closer to his face, "But you can call me Blue, if you want."

"Blue?" Azurill giggled as she playfully jumped on to his shoulder, "That's a color, not a name, silly!"

"Heh, I know," Blue replied with a grin, "But it's just happens to be my name as well."

"Hee hee!" Azurill spun around on his shoulder, wagging her tail playfully, "Then I wanna be called Blue too! Since I'm also blue!"

"Haha, no way!" Blue replied loudly, pretending to be mad, "That's my name! Besides, you're more of a light blue anyway!"

Azurill puffed out her cheeks, pouting, "Then you're a dark blue!" She turned away in a huff and whacked Blue on the back of his head with her tail.

Blue grinned and poked the little Pokémon on the cheek playfully. He was glad that Azurill was no longer feeling scared, and happy to see her so cheerful. Although he was still a little concerned over what that creepy Pokémon had said, he figured that as long as Azurill was safe now, there wasn't anything to worry about.

He reached up and took the little blue Pokémon off his shoulder. But, right as he was about to put her down on the ground, he felt a sudden painful shock rush through his head. It was like a lightning bolt of pain shot shot up his spine and struck the base of his head. The agony in his skull forced him down to his knees, clutching his head as he trembled uncontrollably. He gasped in pain and shut his eyes as an all – too – familiar headache began to ravage his mind.

"Blue?" He heard Azurill's worried voice from somewhere in front of him, but by the time he managed to pull his head back up, his vision had already vanished. An inky blackness swirled in front of him, blotting out the bright, sunny plaza. Silence overwrote the noise and clamor of the crowd, and soon, Blue found himself kneeling in the midst of a dark and silent land.

'...this... not again...' Blue groaned in pain as he forced his eyes to open. A thousand drums were beating inside his head, pounding away at his skull. With great exertion, he staggered back on to his feet.

There was nothing around him. No buildings, no crowd, no Azurill. He was standing in the middle of darkness.

'I remember this...' Blue thought back to the beach, when he first met Fée, 'This... this is that strange phenomenon I felt on the beach...'

Then, he collapsed.

* * *

I bit my lip worriedly as I weaved my way through the enormous crowd of Pokémon. Everyone around was shouting wildly and cheering for something that was going on in the center, I was mildly interested about what kind of event was going on, I decided that finding Azurill was more important that satisfying my curiosity.

I wandered around at the outskirts of the crowd, hoping to spot Azurill's conspicuous tail sticking out of the horde of Pokémon, but to avail. There was just too many different Pokémon flooding the plaza, not to mention the sheer amount of dust that was being kicked up by all the movement was blocking my vision more than anything.

Guilt and worry flooded into me as I continued to circle around the crowd, desperately trying to find her. No matter which way I looked though, all I could see was dust and unfamiliar Pokémon. I looked up and saw a Buneary floating in the air, hanging on to a Drifloon. I wildly imagined myself doing the same thing, trying to find Azurill by looking down from the sky.

I shook my head, ridding myself of such fantasies. If I had time to imagine fanciful things, I could be using it to find her! I slapped myself on the cheeks and continued to search for the little blue Pokémon.

I wandered over to the other side of the plaza, the side that lead to the guild district. A massive cliff made of stone rose up from the ground at the edge of the plaza. In the center of the cliff was a large staircase that was carved directly into the cliff. I glanced up at the stairs briefly. At the very top, near the sky, I could just barely make out the pink tips of the tent that housed Wigglytuff's Guild.

I clutched the bag around my neck and stared nervously at the giant stone stairs. I remembered how I nervously walked up the steps yesterday, hoping, wishing that I would have enough courage to succeed. I smiled mockingly to myself, obviously, I didn't succeed.

But, I didn't feel depressed. Today was different. I held my bag with both of my paws and opened it again, letting the sun shine on my precious treasure.

"That's right," I said to no one in particular, "I'm different now... today, I'll walk up those steps bravely, and I'll ask... I'll ask them to accept me an apprentice..."

Blushing a little, I quickly glanced to my sides, embarrassed. Thankfully, no one was noticed me talking to a set of stairs. Sighing, I replaced the flap on my bag and resumed my search for Azurill.

As I walked down a road that lead away from the plaza, I noticed that less and less Pokémon were present. They must all be at that big event down at the main plaza, I thought. I felt a little relieved by the relative quietness of the road. Then, the silence was quickly shattered by a group of girls walking down opposite me. For no real reason, I hid into a side alley as they passed by.

"So, so, did you see the last match?" A Pikachu said, waving her heart shaped tail around eagerly.

"Oooh yes, I did!" Replied a Furret, who was practically wiggling with excitement, "Wasn't the victor super handsome?"

"I thought so too!" A Roselia added, "Especially the way he just nonchalantly walked out the ring afterwards. I felt faint when he walked past me, ooh!"

"Hm, hm, hm..." The Kirlia standing in between them smirked, "Well, luck's on your side girls, I just so happen to know that Pokémon!"

The other three gaped at her incredulously. The Pikachu recovered first and pointed an accusing finger at the white – dressed Pokémon.

"Don't just say that and not tell us the details!" She said, her red cheeks bristling with electricity, "Come on, what's he like?"

"Well, he was kinda cool, but he didn't really talk much."

The rest of the girls didn't seem to enjoy that answer and proceeded to grill the Kirlia for more information as they walked off.

I thought about what they were rambling about. I've never really cared too much about "cool" or "handsome" Pokémon. In fact, thinking back, I've never really had much contact with other Pokémon my age. I've always sequestered myself inside Mr. Mime's library or hung out with Azurill and Marill.

...though, I suppose Blue would count as a Pokémon my age...

The image of his profile floated up inside my head. I guess he was pretty cool, and I suppose you can call him handsome as well... I felt my face turn bright red as I realized what I was thinking about. I quickly shook my head, that wasn't what I meant!

Feeling even more awkward than before, I quickly dashed out of my hiding spot and continued my walk down the road. Jeez, why do they have to talk about things like that? I quickly quashed my previous thoughts and refocused myself on finding Azurill.

"Féeee!" Suddenly, something small and fast struck my back, almost sending me tumbling forward on to the ground. I quickly turned around and saw little Azurill clutching my hind legs.

"Azurill?!" I felt a surge of anger and worry rise inside of me when I saw her. I was just about to start scolding her about running away, but that desire quickly melted away when I saw her face.

"What happened Azurill? Why are you crying?" I quickly picked up the little Pokémon with my paws. Large tears were pouring down her face as she sobbed loudly at me, "Are you hurt? Please, tell me what happened!"

"Fée... Fée..." She cried out my name as she tightly wrapped her tail around my paw, "Fée, you need to help him! Please..."

"Azurill, it's okay, it's okay..." I held her close to my chest, hugging her tightly as she cried dejectedly into my ruff. I didn't know what happened, but I tried to console her as much as I could, "It's okay Azurill, I'm here..."

"W – we were just talking and jok – joking when he – when he...!" She tried to speak, but her words kept being interrupted by waves of hiccups. I gently patted her back, trying to ease her pain as she struggled to keep talking.

"H – he suddenly fell over and – and he's not moving anymore... just like – just like mom did...!" As soon as Azurill finished that sentence, a new wave of tears flowed out of her eyes. She sobbed even harder into my chest, drenching my fur with tears.

"Please, you have to help him! Please... Fée!"

I didn't know who she was talking about, or what even happened. But as I looked at how upset Azurill was, I knew the details didn't matter. There was someone in trouble, and I needed to go help.

"It's okay Azurill," I said as I put her back down on the ground. I gently cupped her cheeks between my paws, brushing away her tears, "I need you to take me to whoever this is, right now. Alright?"

Azurill gave me a teary nod and ran off toward the other side of the road. I adjusted the bag around my neck and ran after her.

* * *

A few moments of frantic running later, Azurill stopped. When I reached her, I covered my mouth in horror.

It was Blue. My friend was lying down at the side of the road, his was head propped up against the side of a building. The scars on his arms and legs were freshly bleeding, and his chest sported a large, angry looking bruise. Dried dirt caked his blue fur, staining it brown. His eyes were closed as if he was asleep.

"_B – BLUE!_" I screamed in horror as I saw his injured body. I rushed over and cradled his head with my paws, "Blue! Blue, please, wake up! Blue...!"

"I – I tried to help him as much as I c – could," Azurill said, sobbing beside me, "But he wouldn't wake up!"

I leaned my head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat. It was beating erratically, and his breathing was quiet, but ragged.

"F – Fée.." Azurill cried beside me as I let go of Blue's head. I fiercely ripped my bag off my neck, ignoring the tearing sound as I did so, and spilled its contents all over the ground. My treasure and all the berries I saved earlier came rolling out of the bag like marbles. It didn't matter, I had to do something!

I quickly picked out the small, dark blue Oran Berry from the rest. With a shaky paw, I held it over Blue's chest. With great effort, I squeezed the berry as hard as I could. It burst in my paws, spewing blue juice everywhere.

Throwing away the now drained Oran Berry, I scooped up as much Oran juice as I could and spread the dark blue liquid around his chest with my paws. To my great relief, Blue's breathing slowly calm down from its frenetic state as I continued to gently massage his chest. He was looking better, but he still wouldn't wake up.

I wiped the blue juice off my face and out of my eyes as I reached back to the pile of berries on the ground. I sifted through the colorful pile and selected another berry. This time, it was a plump, golden – colored Sitrus Berry.

Unlike the Oran Berry, the Sitrus had a thick, rough – textured skin that had to be peeled first before it could be eaten. I extended a claw from my paw to try and cut the skin, but it wasn't strong enough. My mind thought back to the claw I saw on the Persian's paw earlier, wishing it was mine right now. Shaking my head, I dismissed that thought and looked back the berry. With no other choice available, I did the only thing I could think of.

I bit into it. The rough, sandy surface scraped painfully against my mouth as I tore into the skin. After a few seconds of painful ripping, my teeth finally pierced through the thick skin. A burning, sour juice seeped out of the tiny hole I made, sending a tingling sensation rushing through my body. I ignored it as much as I could and continued to pull the berry's skin away.

After a few minutes of heated tearing and ripping, I was left with the semi – transparent, jelly – like insides of the Sitrus Berry. I gingerly scooped away a tiny piece of the goopy, sour berry. It jiggled awkwardly on my paw as it threatened to slide off and on to the ground.

"Okay, hold his mouth open, Azurill," I said in a hurried voice. Azurill nodded obediently and used her tail to gently push up his noise, exposing his mouth. I took the clear jelly and placed it on the tip of Blue's tongue. Then, I tilted his head backwards. The jelly easily slipped over his tongue and down his throat. I motioned for Azurill to close his mouth.

We watched with bated breath as the berry piece traveled through Blue's body. Azurill stood next to me, still crying softly. I gulped worriedly as I tried to hold back my own tears. I was scared. I didn't know if what I did helped or not. I thought back to the beach yesterday, where I helped resuscitate him with an Oran Berry. I desperately hoped in my mind that the same thing will happen again.

"Fée..." Azurill whimpered as she clung to me, frightened, "Will he be okay?"

Azurill was probably even more scared than I was. I don't know how she met Blue, or what occurred, but she saw him fall over and faint in his injured state. It must've been terrifying for the little girl. I picked her up and held her close to me, trying to console her. And myself at the same time.

Four, maybe five tense minutes passed before we saw any sign of movement from Blue. His right arm began to twitch slightly. At first, I thought I just imagined it, but when I saw his arm begin to move, I nearly dropped Azurill out of relief.

"A...u...ghhh" A pained moan came out of Blue's mouth as he began to stir. I felt as though a heavy weight was suddenly lifted off my back. Unable to hold them back any longer, warm tears began to spill out of my eyes.

"...Fée?" Blue said in a slurred, unfocused voice as he slowly returned to consciousness. He placed a paw against his chest as he slowly breathed in and out. Then, a strange look flitted by his face as felt the sticky juice against his chest, "What is this stuff?"

"Blue..." I quickly tried to wipe the tears off my face before he noticed that I was crying. Blue groaned again and sluggishly tried to push himself off the ground. But before he even got a single inch off the ground, Azurill suddenly leapt forward and tackled him in the chest, knocking the air out of his lungs and sending him back on to the ground.

"You're alright!" Azurill shouted as she wrapped her tail around his chest. Her face was getting stained a dark blue from all the Oran Berry juice left on his chest, but she didn't care. She just kept rubbing her face against his fur joyfully.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Blue winced as the little Pokémon bumped against his bruise, "Easy there, Azurill! You're – ow! – getting all this sticky gunk over your face!"

"I don't care!" She cried out happily, giving Blue a big, sticky smile, "You're okay! You're okay!"

Azurill laughed happily as she hugged Blue. I couldn't help but smile as well, watching Blue try in vain to pull the little Pokémon off him.

"Fée, a little help?" He looked at me imploringly. I sniffed and walked over beside him, but I didn't try to pull Azurill off. Instead, I also grabbed on to Blue's chest and hugged him tightly.

"Jeez, not you too..." He sighed as he raised up his arms in defeat.

Azurill and I shared a smile as we hugged him even harder. Answers can come later, I thought. What's important now is that Blue's okay, and that we're now all back together again. I was aware of the strange looks that the passerby was giving us, but I didn't care. I just held on to my friend.


	10. Someone, anyone

**• ****  
Chapter 10:**

**"Someone... anyone..."  
**

I have no idea how long we stayed there, lying on the ground, hugging tightly onto Blue. It could've been five minutes, ten even, but I'm not really sure. Some passerby had walked past, giving us curious, maybe even amused, glances, but it didn't matter to me. I just continued to cling onto Blue as if he'll disappear again if I let go.

I let my head rest against his warm chest, feeling it rise and fall as he breathed. It was comforting to me. All the panic and worry, all the exhaustion and fear inside of me was being drained away just by being with him. I let out a loud yawn and closed my eyes. Maybe not all of my exhaustion had vanished just yet.

Then, right before I fell asleep, a sharp puff of wind blew into one of my ears. My eyes shot wide open at the strange, tingling sensation on top of my head. Yelping, I leapt off Blue's body and frantically patted my ears. As I tried to get rid of the ticklish feeling, I saw Blue and Azurill silently tittering away at me.

"Sorry Fée," Blue apologized when I shot him an angry look, "You just looked so cozy and snug there that I wanted to play a little prank on you."

I huffed and looked away, pretending to look more offended than I actually was. It made me a little gleeful when I saw the worried look on Blue's face.

"Fée! How come you never told me you knew Blue?" I turned around and saw Azurill giving me an accusatory look, "I didn't know you two were friends already!"

I shook my head, "I'm just as surprised as you are, Azurill," I said as I sat down, "I didn't know you knew this guy as well."

"'This guy?'" Blue glanced at me curiously. I ignored him.

"I just met him today!" Azurill said cheerfully, "I was walking around the big crowd, trying to get a good look at what's going on, and then he suddenly stepped on me!"

"What?!" I gave an aghast look at Blue, who quickly shook his head and waved his arms around frantically.

"And then he tripped and fell onto the ground!" Azurill continued, completely unperturbed. I glanced over to Blue again. Dirt was caked around the side of his bruised – looking snout. He probably noticed my stare, since he began to sheepishly wipe away the dirt from his nose.

I turned back to Azurill, "So what happened next? Did either of you get hurt?"

Azurill shook her head and said, "No, I didn't get hurt at all. I lied, he actually only tripped over my tail!" She said shamelessly, sticking her tongue out. I sighed in relief and reached over to pick Azurill up. She happily jumped into my paws and settled herself underneath my ruff.

"But then, something scary happened," She said, her voice losing some of the gaiety from before, "After I ran away from Blue and out of the crowd, I bumped into a scary Pokémon." She poked her head out from under my ruff. I noticed that her face wasn't smiling anymore.

"Who was it?" I asked, gently patting her head. Azurill just shook her head in response.

"I dunno," She looked over to Blue, who had adopted a serious look on his face, "I've never met that Pokémon before."

"Blue?" I addressed my friend, who looked like he knew something about what happened.

Blue nodded and began to recount the events, "It's as Azurill said. She ran away from me after I accidentally tripped over her tail." He gestured over to Azurill, who ducked under my ruff with a small giggle, "I was afraid that I had hurt her, so I chased after her into the crowd." He grimaced and said with a strained voice, "It... wasn't easy."

He crossed his arms and glanced down at his legs. I noticed that the scars from the Kabuto attack from yesterday still haven't fully healed yet. In fact, they looked even worse than before. It would've been hard for him to chase after Azurill, in a crowd no less, with an injured leg like that. Suddenly, I felt a pang of guilt inside me. It was my fault that he got hurt, after all...

"Fée, are you blaming yourself again?" I quickly looked up at Blue. Did he read my mind? He smirked when he saw the surprise etched on my face, "Bingo."

"B – but, your leg got hurt because of m –," I tried to say, but he just held up a hand in front of my face, interrupting me.

"I already told you," He said, grinning, "It doesn't hurt that much, really." To emphasize his point, he slapped his leg with his paw. Unfortunately, his bravado wasn't enough to mask the pain. He winced and coughed a few times before forcing himself to give me a thumbs up and a smile. I sighed.

He's such an idiot. You don't have to pretend to be strong like that, Blue.

"Blue..."

"I'm telling you, I'm fine. No need to worry." He said, closing the lid on the discussion.

I just shook my head. I made a mental note to collect more Oran Berries later. At this rate, he'll be completely covered in sticky Oran Berry juice before his entire body's healed. The thought of Blue walking around, completely covered from head to toe in blue goop made me giggle a bit.

"So what happened after you chased Azurill through the crowd?" I asked, "Did you meet that scary Pokémon she talked about?"

Blue nodded solemnly, "Yeah. I did." He glanced at my ruff, where Azurill was hiding under. She was quavering a little, so I wrapped my paws around her comfortingly. Blue began to trace a picture in the road with his paw. I watched as he sketched out a strange – looking Pokémon with a pudgy body and a long, trailing nose.

"Is this... a Drowzee?" I said, recognizing the Pokémon's long, snout.

"You know this guy?" Blue questioned, staring curiously at me. I quickly shook my head and explained.

"I once read a book about Pokémon with psychic powers before," I jabbed a paw at the sketch on the ground, "I remember seeing this Pokémon in the book. They're called Drowzee, and they're known to have powerful hypnotic abilities."

"Hypnotic abilities?"

I nodded, "Yeah. Hold on, let me see if I can remember more," I scrunched up my face, trying to recall the details of the book, "Um... I think it means Drowzee have the ability to put Pokémon to sleep with their powers..."

"That's it?" Blue said, rolling his eyes, "Then I really should've just beat him up when I had the chance."

"Beat him up?!" I goggled at Blue, startled by what he just said, "What do you mean beat him up?Is that why you have that big bruise on your chest? Were you in a fight?"

"Err... heh," Blue scratched his head sheepishly while I glared suspiciously at him, "Well, you see..."

"Blue saved me from that big, ugly Drowzee!" Azurill retorted, popping her face out of my ruff, "Don't be mad at him, Fée! He didn't do anything bad!"

"That's not the point, Azurill," I replied, still staring at Blue, "Tell me what happened with that Drowzee."

Blue shrugged and said, "It's like Azurill said, I saved her from the Drowzee." I raised an eyebrow, unsatisfied with that answer. Blue sighed and explained further, "When I finally got out of the crowd, I saw Azurill and that creep – Drowzee – standing over her. I didn't know what happened between the two, but whatever it was, it didn't seem like anything good was going to come out of it."

"So I ran in between them, trying to keep Drowzee away from Azurill."

"And that's when you got hurt?" I said, eying his bruise warily. He shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest, blocking my view.

"Nah, the Drowzee didn't attack me," He replied, "I threatened to fight him if he didn't leave immediately. I managed to scare him away with that," He lifted a fist triumphantly, "See? I didn't need to throw a punch at all."

I remained unconvinced, my eyes narrowing at his story. If he really didn't fight the Drowzee, then how did he end up on the side of the road, unconscious? His story didn't add up.

"So what happened after that?" I said, "You shooed away the Drowzee and then?"

"Err..." Blue lowered his fist and looked surprised. He fell silent and turned away from me, scratching his head.

"Blue?"

He didn't respond immediately, but instead, he closed his eyes. He looked like he was thinking deeply about something. I glanced down worriedly at Azurill, who just gave me a puzzled glance in response. After a moment of silence, he finally reopened his eyes and stared at me. But his eyes weren't directed to me, but rather, at Azurill.

"After I scared away Drowzee," He said in a low, serious voice, "I became acquainted with Azurill."

"Yeah, we chatted and joked a bit!" Azurill concurred, smiling back at Blue. But, Blue wasn't making his usual grin, but instead, he seemed to be frowning a bit.

"Yeah, we joked around a bit. But then, when I went and picked up Azurill, something happened," Blue raised up his right paw up and tapped the side of his head, "I suddenly felt a horrible pain inside my head. Then, the entire world blacked out."

I looked at him, confused for a second. Then, I gasped. I remembered Blue describing something extremely similar happening to him when he first met me on the beach yesterday. He described how he got a headache, then how the world around him suddenly vanished. Then, he fainted.

Blue nodded solemnly at me. The pieces were beginning to come together now. When he touched Azurill, he must've experienced the same thing as when he first met me. I looked down at Azurill, who looked confused at what we were talking about. When Blue fainted, the sight of him collapsing must've terrified her. No wonder she was crying so hard when she found me. I gently rubbed Azurill's head, she must've been really scared. I know I was.

"So... that means," I said in a quiet voice, "Did you... did you see something?"

Blue didn't immediately respond. Instead, he closed his eyes and looked like he was thinking hard about my question. After another moment of silence, he frowned and shrugged.

"I didn't see anything," he stated bluntly, "everything was all black and murky. I couldn't make out anything at all."

I tilted my head in confusion, "But... you said yesterday that you clearly saw what happened to me," I remembered his startlingly accurate description of the beach, "How come it's different this time?"

Blue just shrugged and tapped his head, "I wish I knew the answers to that," He frowned again, "Actually, I wish I knew why this happens in the first place. Fée, have you ever read any books about headaches and blackouts?"

I shook my head. I've read books about blackouts and headaches before, but those books only described mundane things like accidentally hitting your head too hard or oversleeping for too long. Nothing I've read has ever talked about suddenly losing your vision and fainting afterward from a painful headache by just touching somebody.

"I see," Blue shook his head and shrugged, "well, I guess it can't be helped," he stretched out his arms and legs and looked up at the sky.

"Actually, now that I think about it," Blue said, staring idly at the clouds overhead, "There was something odd during my blank vision."

"What was it?"

"I told you, I didn't see anything at all, right?"

"Yeah, you did."

"But, even though I was standing there in the complete darkness, I could hear voices around me. Two voices."

"Did you recognize them?"

Blue shook his head, "No. Even if I could, my headache was so painful that I couldn't really focus anyway."

"Then, what did you hear?"

He paused. He mulled over the question for a moment before answering.

"I couldn't really understand what the voices were saying," Blue said, "But there was one word I managed to make out through my pounding headache."

"What was it?"

"I heard someone screaming help."

* * *

Xatu rushed through the crowd, his eyes darting left and right frantically. It's been over half an hour since he last saw the Riolu. From what he had heard, the Riolu had won his first match during the event, and for that, he was grateful. However, the second match involving the Riolu had to be passed over since the Riolu was absent.

When he heard the floating Buneary announce that, he felt as though his wings had been clipped whilst he was flying. Thankfully, it only meant that the Riolu would have to skip a match and that he wasn't disqualified, but it still made a terrifying shiver go down his spine. He thought back to the Persian and the horde of Meowth.

Why, oh why did he had to go and make that wager? Why did he have to go and dig himself into such a deep hole? He looked down at the small, golden coin in his wing and gulped. He didn't have a choice. For the sake of his own livelihood, he had to make that wager. There was no other way. He had to win the gamble.

And for that, he needed to find that Riolu. At first, he didn't know what to think about the little blue Pokémon. It was a little startling to find a Riolu wandering around the streets of Treasure Town, the gigantic immigration wave notwithstanding. Riolu were known to be isolationist and rather self – centered, preferring to stay amongst their own kind and not associate with the rest of the world. Therefore, he was incredibly surprised to find one in the crowd.

He thought he could stick to his usual tactics, say some bogus phrases about mystical charms and maybe namedrop his ancestors a bit to fool the Riolu. An easy catch, Xatu believed, and he could make some quick money from him. But he didn't expect the Riolu to be so clueless about everything. He didn't even know what money was, nor could he read!

Xatu was both flabbergasted and disappointed. But he quickly thought of a plan. Riolu, despite their negative image, were known to be skilled fighters. And it just so happens that one of the big adventuring guilds in the town was holding some sort of brutish combat show in the plaza. Xatu believed that if he entered this Pokémon into the event, he could go to Persian and strike a wager.

Luckily for him, the Riolu was interested in his wares. It was easy for Xatu to offer the Riolu a proposition. A few victories in the arena, and the Riolu gets what he wants. Simple, right? At least, that was what he thought.

He heard that the first match that the Riolu participated in was a hard – fought battle, with both sides taking severe damage in the process. At that point, Xatu became worried. It no longer felt like a foolproof plan, and only now did he realize the shortcomings of his cunning strategy to get out of debt. It all relied on the Riolu to win. To win, and win and win.

But what if the Riolu lost? What then? He would be in deep trouble, both financially and physically. He had gambled on the Riolu would be a skilled fighter, a tier above the rest. Perhaps the money signs in his eyes blinded him from seeing all sides of the situation. He had imagined a straight victory by the Riolu. After all, Riolu were strong, right?

Xatu grimaced. If only he had the same capabilities as his ancestors. If he had the power to see like they did, then possibly, he would've been able to predict this outcome. No, if he had the power to see, then he wouldn't even be in this situation in the first place.

Xatu thought back to the Persian. The Persian seemed to know about his shortcomings. The way the cat kept sarcastically referring to him as 'prophet' both frustrated and irritated him to no end. It wasn't his fault that he couldn't see, it wasn't his fault.

Alas, all the complaining in the world wouldn't be able to fix his problems, nor fill his purse. Xatu broke out of the crowd and looked around the plaza for the Riolu, hoping to find him before another battle comes and goes.

* * *

"Wow! This is delicious! Fée, what is this?!"

I watched as Blue's eyes sparkled gleefully as he took another bite out of the slice of apple pie. Smiling, I pulled out another slice of pie and put it in front of him. He eagerly picked it up with his other paw and gave me a crumbly grin.

"It's just an apple pie," I said matter – of – factly, "You've never had an apple pie before?"

Blue shook his head, scattering crumbs everywhere. He gleefully devoured the first pie in one bite and immediately started on the second. I shook my head at his childishness. It was strange seeing Blue so happy about something so simple. I've always imagined him to be strong and dignified, but that idea shattered when I saw him choke from stuffing too much pie into his mouth.

A while had passed since we wrapped up our discussion about Blue's strange vision. At that time, I didn't know what to think about it. I wanted to take Blue over to somewhere quieter and maybe get someone to properly look over his injuries. But Blue just shrugged off my suggestions and said that all he needed was some food and some rest, and he'll be just fine.

I wasn't convinced though, but I decided that it probably would be better for him to stay here and rest instead of forcing him to move across town when there's so many Pokémon moving around.

"Fée..." I looked down and saw Azurill nudging my paw with her tail. She was staring at me imploringly, "Can I have one of these?"

She pointed at the small white box that I was holding. Inside the box were the leftovers from the meal we had earlier with Sunflora and Loudred. I saved some apple pie and some of the sweet berry slices that Sunflora made to share with Blue later.

"Sure, go ahead," I said, offering the box to Azurill. She cheered gleefully and picked out several colorful berry slices.

I gave her a little pat on the head before returning to my task. I scooped up several fallen berries on the ground and dusted them off before putting them back inside my bag. Speaking of my bag, I mentally apologized as I stared forlornly at its current state. I had hastily torn it off my neck when I found Blue, and it resulted in the bag's straps being torn into two pieces, again, as well as the body now sporting a rather large tear down the side.

I sighed as I prodded the hole on the bag. I saw my precious treasure peeking through the hole, as if it was staring at me. I gently nudged it deeper into the bag. The last thing I want now is for it to roll out and when we walk through town. Especially after all the trouble we went through to get it back.

"Hold on Azurill, that one's mine!" I raised up my head to see Blue and Azurill fighting over the last slice of pie in the box.

"No way! You already ate three whole slices!"

"I'm bigger, so I need to eat more!"

"You're selfish!"

They both pulled at the pie. Eventually, the poor pie slice couldn't handle the pressure and was torn into two pieces. Jam and pie crust splattered all over the ground as Blue and Azurill sat in a stunned silence, holding their halves of the pie while jam dripped down their faces.

"This seems like a good compromise," I could barely hold back my laughter as I walked toward them, "You both now get half of the pie. Plus some extra splattered all over you two."

Blue and Azurill glared at each other for a second before suddenly breaking out in mirthful laughter. I joined in the laughter, unable to hold back my own.

I sat down next to Azurill and patted her on the head. She gave me a jam – covered smile and wrapped her tail affectionately around my paw.

"Did you have fun today, Azurill?" I asked, shaking her tail up and down.

"Yep!" She said cheerfully, "I'm having so much fun right now! I met all sorts of new Pokémon, I found a new friend," She gestured to Blue, who was already half – way done with his pie, "and I got to run around all over town!"

"Marill usually never lets me go out on my own," She continued, sounding a little less cheerful, "Usually, he just makes me stay at home while he goes out and does whatever he does outside."

Azurill tightened her grip on my paw, "That's no fun. I hate staying at home and doing nothing all day. I wanna go out and play, and have adventures like today!"

"Azurill..." I said, giving her a worried look.

"I wish he would stop being so clingy!" She said, taking a big bite out of her pie, "I think I'd like him more if he would just stop being so afraid of everything all the time."

"You mean Marill?" I asked.

She nodded, "Yep, Marill," She took another bite out of her pie before continuing, "He's always going on and on about how dangerous it is outside, or how scared he is about me getting hurt. But I'm not afraid!"

Her little head drooped down, "I wish he would understand," She looked at me with a small frown on her face, "I'm not a child anymore, you know? I don't want him to always be so worried about me. He's always overdoing it and tiring himself out all the time. I hate that."

"Azurill, I'm sure your brother does that because he cares about you. He just wants you to be safe."

"I know..." She said quietly, "I love him, you know? I know how much he cares about me. I wish I could grow up faster so he wouldn't be so worried all the time."

I glanced over to Blue, who was silently listening in on our conversation. He walked over to Azurill and gently placed a paw on her head.

"Azurill," I said in a calm voice, "The reason why he works so hard is so you don't have to grow up so fast. He wants you to have fun, and enjoy yourself some more."

"He does?"

"That's right," I smiled at her, "If it wasn't for Marill, you wouldn't be able to have as much fun as you have now."

"So don't be so hard on your brother, alright?"

"Okay, Fée," She said, untangling herself from my paw. She pointed at the sky with her tail and announced loudly, "I still wanna grow up though! I wanna be taller and stronger than Blue is!

She pointed her tail at Blue, who grinned and placed his paw against it.

"And," She continued, "I wanna go out of Treasure Town! I wanna go and explore the world! I bet you that there's probably hundreds, no, more than hundreds of places out there that's super fun to visit!"

I smiled at her. I was just about to reply to her boast when suddenly, a new voice rang out from behind us.

"Well, it seems like you're all having a lot of fun,"

Sunflora and Loudred were standing on the road behind us with big smiles plastered on their faces.

"Sunflora! Loudred!" I stood up and greeted my new friends happily, "It's nice to see you two again!"

"Has it really been that long?" Loudred mused, rubbing his chin. He stared at my two jam – covered companions and remarked, "So is he the friend you were talking about back then?"

"Yep!" I trotted over to Blue and nudged him playfully with my paw, "This is my friend, Blue!"

"'Blue?'" Loudred repeated in a puzzled voice, "... I didn't know that was actually his name..."

Sunflora slapped Loudred over the head hard with her leaf, making him cry out in surprise.

"Ow! What the heck Sunflora?"

"Oh my god, why must you always be so rude?" She chided. She turned to Blue and bowed apologetically, "I'm so sorry about my companion's rudeness, eek!"

"It's not a big deal," Blue said, waving off her apology, "Don't worry about it."

"Ooh, he's so cool!" Sunflora said gleefully, "I've never met a Riolu before, so this is a new experience for me! Eek!"

"Thanks...?" Blue said, looking a little confused and maybe a little taken aback by how enthusiastic Sunflora was.

I giggled at Blue's apprehension and decided to throw him a bone. I nudged Sunflora and asked, "So did you find Azurill's brother?"

"Oh, yes!" She said, clapping her leaves together as if she just remembered, "Marill, where are you? Come on ou –!"

Before she even finished her sentence, a sudden blue blur came zooming out from behind Loudred toward Azurill. Blue quickly stood up, his leftover pie splattering on the ground as he took a fighting stance, his eyes steely.

"Oh, Azurill! Azurill! Where have you been? I was so worried about you!"

Blue stared at me for a second, evidently confused. I shook my head and just pointed at Azurill.

"Gah! Brother, stop hugging me, you're suffocating me! Ew! You're crying all over me, let me go!"

"I'm so sorry Azurill! I'm such an awful brother to you, I'm so sorry! I ran all over town, looking for you, but there was just too many Pokémon, and I couldn't find you anywhere! Please forgive me, Azurill!"

I couldn't help but smile at the scene. Azurill's brother, Marill had pulled her into a big, heartwarming hug. He was crying huge tears while he clung tightly onto her, despite Azurill's protests and struggling.

"Aww, isn't that just adorable?" Sunflora squealed happily, "A family reunion always feels so nice, doesn't it Loudred?"

"I dunno, it looks more like a fight to me than a reunion – ow!"

I laughed as Sunflora slapped Loudred over the head again.

"Gyeeh!" Azurill squealed as she managed to escape Marill's clutches. She ran behind Blue and peeked out from behind his legs, sticking her tongue out at her brother.

"Are you the one who found Azurill?" Marill said in a surprised voice, as if he just noticed Blue's presence, "Thank you, thank you so much! I don't know how I can repay you for your troubles."

Blue looked uncomfortable at the sight of Marill practically prostrating in front of him. He looked over to me with an expression that practically screamed 'help me!' I giggled at his desperation and walked over to Marill and tapped him on the back. He spun around and looked at me in surprise.

"Fée? You're here too?" He sounded so genuinely surprised that I almost laughed out loud in front of him.

"Yes, Marill, I'm here too," I said, barely holding back my mirth, "How are you?"

"I'm fine...!" He said, looking decidedly not – fine, "I've just been running all over town looking for my sister all day. I was so scared when she suddenly grabbed onto that Drifblim. I mean, have you ever seen a Drifblim before? They're massive! Then she got carried away by that balloon – I mean Drifblim – and I couldn't see her anymore! I felt like I was going to faint on the spot!"

I shook my head, trying to process the sheer tidal wave of words that Marill was throwing at me. I glanced over to Azurill in Blue's paws, who just gave me an amused look and tittered silently as I tried to brave her brother's worries.

"...and then I ran into a crowd of Meowth and Persian, and I thought they were gonna rob me!"

I turned toward Loudred and Sunflora. Loudred shrugged while Sunflora seemed like she was listening intently to Marill's tale of woe.

"To cut a long story short," Loudred said in a loud, commanding voice, "We found Marill running around the guild district, frantically writing all sorts of requests for someone to find his dear sister."

"It's true!" Sunflora said when I glanced over to her for confirmation, "Marill was practically inconsolable, eek! He was just running all over the place, begging for someone to help him! He even had a bag of Poké that he was shaking around!"

"Marill, you didn't!" Azurill yelled, glaring angrily at him, blushing. Marill ashamedly fiddled around with his tail, staring intently at his feet.

"Well, thankfully we found him before he blew his entire life's savings away," Loudred remarked, patting Marill playfully on the back, "You have a great brother, Azurill. Hahaha!"

"Mmhh..." Marill mumbled nervously as the big blue Pokémon beside him roared with laughter. Azurill blushed furiously while Blue just stared with confusion and amusement on his face.

"That's not a bad thing, Marill," I said, smiling at him, "Loudred's right. You were being a good brother."

Marill looked at me and gave me a small smile, "Thanks Fée, I really appreciate it." He sighed and straightened up. He looked over at Blue and gave him a nod. Blue seemed to understand what he meant, and put Azurill down on the ground.

"Azurill, I'm sorry for overreacting like that," Marill said softly at Azurill, "But you have to understand. You're my younger sister, my family. I can't help it if I get worried when you're gone."

"But you didn't have to go around begging for help!" Azurill shouted back, "I was fine the entire day, you know? I didn't need you to go around and try and pay people to find me!"

I gave Blue a worried glance. The incident with the Drowzee resurfaced in my mind. But Blue just shook his head and remained silent.

"Azurill, I know you want to go out and play," Marill held Azurill's tail and patted it, "There would be nothing I'd like more than to let you go out and romp around with your friends. But... I'm scared, Azurill. You're my... you're my only family now, and I don't want to lose you too. That's why I don't want to let you out of my sight if possible."

"I'm sorry if I'm always so... so panicky. I know I'm always sheltering you, preventing you from going out and having fun all the time, but I just can't help it. You're still so young... and you know mom wouldn't want you to be hurt..."

"Don't talk about mom!" Azurill shouted in an unexpectedly harsh voice, making me, and everyone else, jump with shock. She smacked Marill's paws away from her tail and send him tumbling on the ground. Azurill leapt away from him, snarling.

"Azurill...!" Marill tried to reach toward Azurill, his voice cracking and sounding hurt, "Azurill please, I didn't mean to –"

"You're always trying to be like mom!" Azurill screamed, tears were beginning to well up in her eyes, "You're not mom, Marill! You're not!"

Suddenly, she turned her back on Marill and began to run. Blue reached out and tried to grab onto her tail, but she slipped past his paws and ran away.

"Azurill!" I shouted out in shock, "Azurill come back!"

"I'll catch her," Blue nodded at Sunflora and Loudred and the three of them took off running after the little girl. I glanced nervously at Marill, who looked as though someone had just poured an entire bucket of iced water over him.

"Marill... are you alright?" I said, worried. Tears suddenly started rolling down his face as he tried to pull himself back up. He covered his eyes with his paws, trying to staunch the flow of tears.

"I – I did something stupid... I completely forgot..."

"Marill, calm down..." I tried to comfort him, but he continued to sob.

"I... Azurill... she was always closer to mom than I was," He said, choking a little, "When mom left us, she... Azurill was devastated..."

"When we moved to Treasure Town, I had hoped that Azurill would eventually get over mom, but I guess she never could let go. I've tried so long, so hard to be a good brother, but... I guess I'm just terrible. Terrible at being a brother or a replacement for her mother."

He stared at Azurill's half – eaten pie on the ground and said bitterly, "I guess I never could replace mom in her eyes. I bet... she hates me even more now..."

"Marill..."

I just didn't know what to say. I've always known that Azurill and Marill lived alone, but that was the norm in Treasure Town. Many Pokémon moved to Treasure Town to seek out new lives and forget their past, and I've always assume that that was why Marill and Azurill lived here. But I never imagined that this was the reason.

I picked up my bag with my mouth. I patted Marill on the back to get his attention.

"Marill, let's go," I said, my voice muffled by the straps in my mouth.

"Go? Go where?" He said, confused.

"Isn't it obvious? We're going to find Azurill and talk to her."

"No... no, no, I don't think that's a good idea," Marill said, looking despondent, "I... I don't think she wants to see me anymore, not after that."

"That's not true!" I replied, giving him a confident look, "Azurill doesn't hate you, Marill. She never did, and you know that."

"So don't say that you're a terrible brother, Marill. You were worried about her, weren't you? Loudred said you were running around the guilds, begging for help."

"She hated that, didn't you hear her yell?"

I shook my head, "She was just embarrassed, that's all. I'm sure the appreciates how hard you tried to find her. Even if it was a little over the top."

"Fée..."

I gave him another pat on the back and smiled, "Now come on, let's go find your sister and apologize to her."

He sniffled and wiped his eyes, giving me a strange sense of déjà vu. He stood up and nodded, "Thank you, Fée. Azurill's lucky to have a friend like you."

"Aren't we friends as well?" I remarked, nudging him playfully. He blushed and quickly waved his arms around.

"Y – yeah, we're friends too, sorry, I forgot."

I giggled and ran off, leaving Marill behind. I turned around and shouted at him.

"Come on, let's go!"

* * *

Azurill sat down on the ground, sighing to herself. She knew that what she did was childish and stupid, but she couldn't help it. When she heard that he had been looking for her all day, she secretly felt a little happy, even though she pretended to be annoyed. But that all changed when Loudred brought up the fact that Marill tried to spend money to find her.

Azurill knew that Marill worked hard to support the both of them, and sometimes, they had to live through hard times because of bad luck. But she didn't complain, and in fact, she secretly respected her brother for working so hard all the time. For her, but never for himself.

A small flame of anger grew inside of her. Marill was so stupid. Ever since mom vanished, Marill never seemed to slow down and take a rest. Azurill recalled the morning, when she somehow managed to convince him to go outside with her and check out the commotion. But no matter how much Azurill tried to point out how interesting and exciting everything was, her brother would always fret and worry about Azurill getting hurt. It made her sad and frustrated that her brother just couldn't calm down and enjoy the atmosphere.

Eventually, she just couldn't take it anymore and saw a big, floating balloon – like Pokémon in the air. She decided that, if Marill was going to keep worrying, then she might as well make it exciting. The next thing Azurill knew, she was floating high, high up in the sky. She couldn't see Marill anymore, and she was scared of falling. Thankfully, the Pokémon she hitched a ride with was kind and understanding, and let her down somewhere else in town.

Of course, she was now alone and scared. It pained her to admit that, without her brother around, she was a little frightened of everything. The kind Drifblim had floated away, and it seemed like everything around her was foreign and scary. Luckily for her, she managed to spot a familiar face eventually.

"Hey, isn't that Fée?"

"It is! Fée! Hello Fée!"

She recognized the brown furred Pokémon. The little Eevee that lived close to them, even though Azurill had never visited her home before. Azurill felt relieved that she found a familiar, friendly face, and immediately attached herself onto the Eevee.

Since then, everything became a crazy blur. Azurill met new friends, Sunflora and Loudred. She got separated from Fée and accidentally tripped another new friend, Blue. She was scared by Drowzee, but her cool new friend Blue saved her.

It was so strange, and everything felt so new. It was an adventure that she'd never been on before. It was fun, exciting, and even a little scary. But it was such a fresh new experience.

But then, everything stopped when she reunited with Marill again. She knew that Marill was probably worried and afraid about her. Azurill felt a little guilty when he hugged her so happily. He didn't blame her, and instead kept calling himself an awful brother. That made Azurill mad. It wasn't his fault that she went missing, it was hers.

And then he said that he tried to beg someone to help him find her. With his hard earned money.

Azurill felt sick. She felt awful that Marill had to go to such lengths to try and find her. She never wanted him to do that. She only wanted to scare him a bit, but for him to sacrifice something like that for her, it just made her feel guilty. Then, he had to remind her about mom...

Azurill felt tears beginning to well up in her eyes. Why did he have to bring up mom? She knew that Marill was trying to take care of her as much as he could, to do what mom would've done if she was still around. It's already been a few years, but she still just couldn't get over it.

"U...u..." She couldn't stop the tears anymore. Warm droplets of water came pouring out of her eyes as she tried to stem the flow with her tail. But it wouldn't stop. Marill... Mom...

She sat on the ground in her pitiable state, sobbing, crying alone. She didn't even know where she was anymore, but she continued to cry.

"Well... what do you know? No bodyguard this time, little girl...?

Startled, Azurill quickly turned around. But she couldn't see anything, as a large hand suddenly exploded into her view, grabbing tightly onto her face and roughly yanking her off the ground.

"G – gaah!" She tried to scream for help, but the stranger's hand was muffling her mouth. She tried to bite him, but her tiny teeth could only barely tickle his palm.

"You never should've left that Riolu's side, little girl..." She froze. She recognized that slow, drawling voice, "Hm hm hm... I thought I had to give up on you when that blasted Riolu appeared... but look at you now, walking right into me like a Farfetch'd into a boiling pot."

Her captor shifted his grip on Azurill. Suddenly, she could breath. Taking a deep breath, Azurill shouted as loud as she could.

_"HEEEEEEELP!"_

Stars erupted in her eyes as the Drowzee violently slammed a fist on her head, shutting her up.

"Don't do that, brat," He said furiously as he readjusted his grip again to cover up her mouth, "Or else worse punishment will come to you..."

Azurill was terrified. She begged for someone... anyone... to have heard her plea. Unfortunately, no one came, making the Drowzee chuckle darkly.

"What a shame... your only hope, dashed..."

He shifted his hand so that Azurill's eyes would be freed, but still kept her mouth muffled.

"Take a good look, little girl..." Drowzee said with a perverse glee as he placed his other hand on top of Azurill's head, "For this will be the last time you'll ever see Treasure Town again, hm hm hm..."

She didn't even get to see anything. Her vision was too blurred by tears.


	11. Just help me find her!

**• ****  
Chapter 11:**

**"Just help me find her!"**

Blue panted heavily as he stopped in front of the Founder's Fountain. Grunting in exertion, he threw his arm over the side of the fountain, and leaned his tired body against the cool stone. His right leg was throbbing agonizingly, screaming angrily at him for not giving it any rest. Grimacing, he slapped himself with his paw, trying to keep his mind off the pain.

There were more important things at stake here, he thought. It was something that was worth more than just a leg or two!

As if it was listening to his thoughts, the pain in his leg slowly receded. Sighing in relief, Blue let his body slide down the side of the fountain until he was sitting on the ground. He buried his face in his paws, trying to calm down his wildly beating heart. He felt a strange wetness from his paws as they touched his face. He glanced at his paws, and realized that one of them was soaked with water.

A sudden thought raced through his head. Without any warning, he hastily pulled himself back up and turned around. He leaned over the edge of the fountain, staring at the pool of water inside Without any reservations, he suddenly vaulted over the fountain wall and dived into the water. When his body entered the water, he gasped in shock. It felt like millions of icy needles were jabbing into him as he submerged himself in the fountain pool.

He grit his teeth and endured the freezing cold water. Taking a deep breath, he submerged his head under the surface.

He scanned the interior of the fountain pool. He had hoped to find Azurill sitting in the corner, waiting for him to pick her up. To his dismay, all that he could see was just piles and piles of discarded coins. He couldn't fathom as to why there was so much Poké just lying unclaimed inside the fountain, but he quickly dismissed his curiosity and resurfaced for air.

He waded over to the side of the fountain and spat out the fountain water that had seeped into his mouth. The Riolu angrily slammed his fist against the stone wall, venting his frustration against the fountain. He glared at his injured leg through the wavy surface of the water. If only he wasn't injured, then he could've easily caught up with Azurill and stopped her from running away.

But no, thanks to his aching leg, he could only watch as the little girl vanished into the crowd before his very eyes. He winced as his leg suddenly spasmed painfully as if in response to his frustration.

As he floated in the water, a certain memory surfaced up inside of his mind. That vision he had... didn't he hear somebody scream the word 'help?' What if that voice belonged to Azurill? And if it was Azurill, what could've happened to her to make her scream? What if that Drowzee found her again? He wasn't by her side this time, he can't protect her if she runs into that dangerous Pokémon!

His heart began to beat faster and faster as the fear inside of him grew. He desperately tried to recall as much as could about the blank vision. He hoped that he could break through the dark void and possibly discover where Azurill could be. But, for all his struggling, all he managed to achieve was a sharp pain at the back of his head. The memory of the vision stayed obstinately black, invisible and useless to him.

Annoyed and frustrated at his uselessness, he climbed out of the icy water and back onto the road, water dripping forlornly off his face and arms. He glanced around the plaza, thinking. Where else could he go to find Azurill? He didn't know the town's layout very well, and with all the Pokémon wandering around, it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

He violently shook the water off his fur, drenching the dirt beside him. Several unfamiliar Pokémon walked past him, shooting him curious glances. They quickly averted their gazes when Blue glowered at them. There wasn't any reason for him to stay here if Azurill isn't here.

But, right as he was about to leave the plaza, he noticed a familiar face rushing toward him. He felt a sudden rush of guilt flare up inside him as he recognized the Pokémon.

"You... you...!" The tall bird stopped in front of him, panting and gasping. His eyes were bulging out of his head as he glared angrily at Blue. The Riolu actually took a step back, intimidated by the sheer fury that was radiating out of the bird's gaze.

"Xatu..." Blue greeted the furious bird, trying to back away slowly.

"Where... where have you been?" Xatu said breathlessly, "You... have you forgotten our deal?"

"Urk...!" Blue took another step back. His back was now against the fountain's stone wall. He quickly thought back to the deal he struck with Xatu. How he promised to do a few matches in that battle event or whatever in exchange for some of Xatu's charms. However, the entire fiasco involving Azurill and Drowzee had completely blown that memory out of his mind.

Plus, he had spent an unknown amount of time unconscious and immobile. There wasn't he could've done about that!

"Xatu... I have a reason why I wasn't here," Blue said carefully, trying to sound as apologetic as possible. Xatu, however, just shook his head and sent Blue another angry glare.

"Save your excuses, Riolu," Xatu said, his voice dripping with ill – hidden anger, "I'll hear them out after you complete your part of our arrangement."

"W – wait," Blue tried to interject, but Xatu just reached forward and grabbed one of his paws. He was surprised by the gangly bird's strength as he was forcibly pulled off the fountain wall and dragged away by Xatu.

"I never would've imagined," Xatu grumbled quietly, but kept his voice just loud enough so Blue could hear, "that once I left you alone, you'd vanish and completely forget about your matches. Must I have to baby sit you like a child?"

"I'm telling you, I have a reason...!"

Xatu ignored him and continued with his angry tirade, "I was aware of the fact that, as a Riolu, you might be a little unaware of social norms and conduct. But I had assumed you'd have to responsibility to at least try to honor our arrangement!"

"I don't understand what you mean by that!"

"How do you think I felt when I realized that you missed two of your matches?" Xatu seethed, still ignoring Blue's protests, "I had honestly believed that you were reneging on our deal, Riolu!"

"And worse of all," Xatu stopped dragging Blue and turned around, "imagine how I felt when I finally found you. Paddling around in the Founder's Fountain like a child, without a single care in the world."

His face was a mask of indignation as he scowled at Blue, "Were you possibly insulting me from afar?"

Blue tried to reply again, but he barely even got a single syllable out before another tirade from Xatu cut him off.

"Oh, a deal? Oh no, that's not important!" Xatu's voice became high pitched and stinging, "For I am a Riolu, I'd rather go for a swim than keep my promises! Wasting my time away inside of a fountain pool is much more important to me than anything else! I do not have a single care in a world! What a lark!"

Xatu mimed splashing around in a pool like a child before grasping Blue's paw again to tug him away. But, as he tried to pull the Riolu, he spoke.

"No..."

Xatu stopped. He suddenly felt as though a block of ice just slipped down his back. The Riolu's voice appeared to have changed. It suddenly sounded much more cold and threatening. He slowly turned around and saw Blue staring at the ground, unmoving.

"No? What do you mean no?"

Blue's head suddenly snapped upward. Xatu flinched when he saw Blue's face, or to be more precise, his expression.

Blue yanked his paw out of Xatu's grasp with an incredible force and glared at the bird, sending a wave of fear through the prophet's body.

"R – Riolu?" Xatu spoke with a quiet voice. He didn't know what to expect from the furious Pokémon in front of him.

Blue held up a single paw and pointed at him.

"You're wrong."

His tone was almost unrecognizable. It was almost as if another Pokémon had taken the Riolu's place and had spoken for him. Xatu took a nervous step back and quickly turned away from the Riolu's terrifying gaze.

"I'm wrong, am I?" Xatu said, trying to adopt his usual prideful voice to mask his growing unease, "Then do tell, give me an explanation that will satisfy my all – seeing eyes."

"If you do have all – seeing eyes, then you would've already known why you're wrong."

Xatu's eyes widened. He was unprepared for such an unexpectedly fast reply. He nervously glanced to his sides, trying to concoct a retort to give back to the Riolu. But before he could even conjure up a single word, the Riolu spoke again in the same low, icy tone.

"I remember when I first spoke with you. You boasted that you could see everything that happens in this town, and everything that surrounds it. Was that the truth?"

The Riolu's accusatory words felt like a freezing slap across Xatu's face. A cold sweat ran down his back as he took another step backward, away from the quiet Pokémon.

Panicked, frantic thoughts ran through Xatu's head. Did this Riolu know his secret? If so, then how? No, more importantly, if he did know his secret, then he could possibly spread it all around town...!

Xatu covered his face with his wings, trying to hide his terrified expression. If his secret got out, then his entire livelihood could be ruined! Taking a deep gulp, Xatu tried his best to recompose himself. He folded his wings on his chest and raised his head up high, putting on the most haughty expression he could muster.

He looked down at the Riolu. Despite his height, Xatu felt as though the Riolu had somehow grown to three times his size, towering over him like a behemoth.

"Y – yes, that is the truth." A pang of fear exploded inside of him as he heard his own voice come out as shaky and weak.

Blue's expression remained unchanged. His face still displayed skepticism and disbelief. Xatu glanced around him again. The two of them were slowly attracting a small crowd of curious onlookers. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit Xatu. He quickly swung his wings out wide, adopting his usual dramatic pose.

"It is because the blood of prophets and seers, my ancestors, run through my veins! We, Xatu, have incredible powers of precognition and divination that you cannot comprehend!" He was brutally aware of the amount of attention he was attracting from the passerby. But, that was the intention. Maybe, just maybe, if he managed to draw in enough people, the Riolu will stop questioning him...!

Gambling on that plan, he raised his voice to announce to the curious Pokémon watching, "To say that I am wrong would be to say that many generations of great prophets were wrong!"

"Alright then," Blue was unfazed, neither by the Xatu's forceful voice nor by the crowd slowly gathering around them. He simply crossed his arms and fired a simple question at the bird, "Then I'd like you to find something for me, find something with your all – seeing eyes."

"I... my eyes?" Xatu faltered. He could feel his hastily built plan crumbling around him. The crowd was beginning to mutter suspiciously amongst themselves as they watched the scene unfold.

"Yeah, that's right," Blue said as he bent down. With his paw, he began to sketch something in the dirt road. After a few moments of tense silence, the Riolu completed his drawing and took a step back, revealing the picture to Xatu.

"Is that... an Azurill?" Xatu said in a confused voice.

Blue nodded and pointed at the sketch, "I want you to use your all – seeing eyes and find out where she is."

"What – why?" Xatu spluttered, desperately trying to keep the pressure off of him, "Why do I have to do this?"

He took another nervous step back and glanced around him. The crowd was getting more and more riled up as the seconds flew by. Another idea appeared in his head, and without even considering it, he went with it.

"Hold on, this isn't even a part of our deal, Riolu!" He shouted in an indignant voice, "Do not try to mislead me!"

"I'm not misleading you or anything," Blue retorted with a low growl, making Xatu freeze up again, "You said you had the power to see everything in town, didn't you?"

He pointed accusingly at Xatu, "...or was that just a lie?"

"How dare you accuse me of lying! Such sight is but a simple task for a prophet as powerful as I!" Xatu shouted, but his indignant tone was faltering. The crowd's mumblings grew louder as Xatu continued to sweat nervously.

"Then why aren't you helping me?" Blue retorted immediately. The Riolu took a heavy step forward, sending sand scattering into the air from his foot, "It should be simple for you! Just... just help me find her! With your all – seeing eye!"

"I – I..." Xatu turned away from the Riolu's crimson eyes. He looked around them, trying to gauge how the crowd was reacting. The whispers had increased in volume as more and more bystanders began to congregate around them. To his horror, he thought he saw a few of his former customers within the crowd, watching him with suspicious eyes.

He needed to take control of their argument before the situation becomes too dangerous...!

He spread out his wings and shouted toward the heavens in the loudest voice his lungs could allow, "I AM XATU! I am the latest in generations and generations of prophets! The blood of seers and diviners run through my body, granting me the great power of prophecy and prediction! How dare you just come up and beg me for help?! You dirty Riol –!"

A sudden gust of wind struck Xatu squarely in the face, filling his beak with sand and immediately putting a halt to his angry tirade. A short cry of surprise and fear erupted from the crowd as the windstorm passed by. Xatu doubled over and coughed, having swallowed several grains of sand. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the Riolu standing at the center of the miniature tornado, surrounded by swirling sand and dust.

"I see." Blue withdrew his throbbing right foot from the small crater he made in the ground and turned his back to the coughing bird.

"R – Riolu...?"

Blue held up his arm to Xatu's face, shutting him up, "I honestly believed that you were a good person when we first met, Xatu." His voice wasn't angry. Rather, Blue sounded disappointed, sad even. "I don't understand many things about this world. Money, reading, or what that 'grand battle royale' was."

"But," Blue clenched his right paw into a fist, "I was glad when you struck that deal with me. I thought you were a pretty nice guy, a little creepy maybe, but still a nice enough person to help out someone as clueless as me."

"Your charms? You said they were worth weeks worth of Poké. It wasn't something that was possible for me. But then, you gave me a way to earn them." Blue paused and looked at Xatu for a second before continuing, "You told me that all I had to do was fight in a few matches in this battle event, and you'd give them to me. That was generous of you, and I appreciate that."

Blue's head slumped down, breaking their eye contact. He spoke in an ashamed voice, "But I know I broke our deal, and I'm sorry. It was my fault, and I can't really deny that."

"But, there was a reason why I had to turn back on our deal."

Xatu stared down at where Blue's eyes were looking. The small drawing of the Azurill was still there, just barely visible underneath all the kicked up sand.

"A friend of mine disappeared, and I need to go find her," Xatu noticed that Blue's right arm was trembling as he talked, "That's why I can't go play around in that battle royale anymore. That's why I have to break our deal. For every second I stand here, unmoving, the longer it'll take for me to find her, and the more danger she could be in."

Blue spun around and looked at Xatu. His expression wasn't angry anymore, but rather, it was an expression of desperation.

"That's why I'm begging for your help," Blue suddenly fell to the ground, bowing down in front of Xatu, pleading, "I don't know this city. I can't find her on my own. I need your help. Use your sight, use that ability of yours to see everything and find her. 'Dirty Riolu?' I don't care whatever you call me! Just... just help me find her!"

"I..." Xatu was speechless. He didn't know what to do. The Riolu was now in front of him, prostrating like a fool and begging for his assistance. The crowd around him was beginning to whisper even louder and louder. Everybody seemed to be waiting expectantly for Xatu's reply.

"Xatu, please answer me!"

What can he do? What can he say? How can he just go out and announce to the Riolu that he lacked the power of sight?!

* * *

"Um... contestant number 27? This is your third call!"

The Buneary looked around the crowd surrounding the combat ring uneasily. Contestant 27, the Riolu from Crystal Cave was absent again, for the third time. She could hear the grumbles of discontent slowly rising from the crowd as they waited for the Riolu to appear. Nervously, she turned her head over to the roof of the building where her bosses sat.

Machoke wore a bored expression on his face, his chin on his fist and his arm on his knee. He stared at the ring, where only one of the two combatants were present. His companions, Hariyama and Staraptor stood beside Machoke, watching their guildmaster's expression concernedly. When Machoke gets bored, bad things tend to happen.

"What is going on?" He grumbled, making Staraptor and Hariyama jump. Machoke pointed his thumb impatiently at the half – empty ring, "Why the heck hasn't the battle started yet? This is getting to be really freaking boring."

Staraptor and Hariyama glanced over at the ring, and then back at Machoke. A small frown had formed on his craggy face, a clear warning sign to the two that something dangerous was about to occur.

"I'm gonna go and see if there's anything I can do about this," He said, sending a chill down Hariyama and Staraptor's spines. Machoke turned and gestured to his avian companion. The crested Pokémon gave a loud sigh and extended his wings. Machoke hopped on the large bird's back and within seconds, the two launched off the roof and into the air.

"Where are we going, guildmaster?" Staraptor asked in a hesitant tone. Machoke folded his beefy arms across his chest dangerously as he sat on Staraptor's back. He pointed at the floating Buneary with a finger.

The Buneary watched worryingly as her bosses soared closer and closer to her. Staraptor flapped his powerful wings and halted his flight, stopping himself next to the balloon and bunny pair.

"B – boss, what's the problem?" Buneary asked in a timid voice. Machoke grunted and stood up on the flapping bird's back, expertly keeping his balance.

"What's going on?" He demanded with a shout, making the bunny flinch in fear, "Why hasn't the battle started yet? This is the third time already!"

"E – eep...!" Buneary covered her eyes with her fluffy ears. Fearfully, she peeked out from underneath of of her ears and answered hesitatingly, "I – It's because one of the contestants is missing, again..."

"Which one?" Machoke grunted, flexing his two beefy arms, "I'll go find that fighter and give him a stern talking to." He slammed his fist into his other hand, making a loud booming noise.

Buneary mentally apologized to the Riolu before she replied, "I – it's the 27th contestant, sir... a Riolu from Crystal Cave."

"A Riolu, eh?" Machoke mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "That's pretty rare around these parts."

"Honestly Machoke, have you been paying attention to every match?" Staraptor remarked exasperatingly, "That Riolu's already fought in a match against a Mienfoo earlier."

"I must've been asleep," Machoke grinned and shrugged, "Some of the fights have been boring as heck, so I decided to take a nap."

"You hosted this battle royale, the least you could do is be present for it."

"Forget that!" Machoke folded his arms again, cutting the conversation short. He slapped Staraptor's back energetically, "Come on Rapta, we got a Riolu to find!"

"You never listen, do you?" Rapta shook his head, trying to endure the five – fingered pain he now felt on his back, "Well, you're the boss. Just try to not hit me while we fly, alright?"

Rapta quickly uttered a few quick instructions to Buneary on how to proceed with the battle royale before flapping his powerful wings and soaring agilely into the sky.

"Let's see, Riolu, Riolu, Riolu..." Machoke clutched Rapta's feathers tightly as he leaned over the side of the bird to see the ground below. Hordes and hordes of Pokémon were still just wandering the streets and roads of Treasure Town, making it fairly difficult to pick out a single individual out of the crowd. But Machoke didn't care, he continued to scan the surroundings for that one Riolu.

"Out of curiosity, Guildmaster," Rapta said to Machoke, but still keeping his head forward and focused on his flight, "Do you even know what a Riolu looks like?"

"Of course!" Machoke announced bombastically. Staraptor sighed and nodded, feeling a sense of relief wash over him.

"...not!"

Rapta suddenly braked in midair. If he was on the ground running, then he might've made a loud skidding noise. The great crested bird turned his head around as he tried to stabilize himself in the air. He goggled at the grinning muscular Pokémon on his back.

"Are you joking, Guildmaster?!" He squawked in disbelief, "You don't even know what we're looking for?"

Machoke roared with laughter as he saw his avian companion's incredulous expression. He slapped the bird on the back again, making them drop down a few feet in altitude.

"Of course I know what a Riolu looks like, Rapta!" He said, tears forming in his eyes, "I was just joking with you, ha ha ha!"

"Ugh... Guildmaster, please," Rapta sighed as the stinging pain on his back doubled, "Save the jokes for when we're back on the ground."

"Alright, alright." Machoke agreed, still amused, "Let's fly a little bit lower. I think I see something interesting going on near the Founder's Fountain."

Rapta nodded and lowered their height, gently descending toward the ground. With a loud _flumph!_ noise, the great crested bird landed on the road in a dignified fashion. Pokémon that were standing around their landing spot quickly covered their eyes and face as a great gust of sandy wind was blown toward them.

Machoke dismounted his avian friend and grinned as he stood in the center of the small crowd of cringing Pokémon. He looked around to see what was going on.

"M – Machoke?!" One of the Pokémon behind him shouted in surprise. Machoke grinned at the sight of someone recognizing him. He quickly flexed his muscles and performed his usual dynamic pose.

"That's Guildmaster Machoke to you!" He announced, pointing a muscled finger up into the air. He spun around and displayed a shining smile while Staraptor ashamedly covered his face with his wing behind him.

His smile faltered when he saw the strange sight in front of him. A Xatu was standing in front of a prostrating Riolu. The Riolu looked like he had seen better days, as scars and wounds covered his entire body. Both Pokémon wore similar expressions, but they contained different emotions. Xatu looked startled, his face aghast and terrified. But the Riolu held a defiant gaze behind his startled expression.

The Riolu shook off his surprise first. Machoke watched as the little blue Pokémon stand up. He expected the Riolu to walk up to him and ask what he was doing here, and maybe ask him for his autograph, so he quickly displayed his pectoral muscles in anticipation.

"Xatu, I need your answer. Please."

Machoke's mouth dropped wide open. The Riolu had completely ignored his dynamic pose in favor of addressing the Xatu! Even the Xatu looked amazed at the sheer audacity of the Riolu.

"My, my," Rapta shook his head, amused, "I've never seen a Pokémon ignore you like that before." He tittered behind his wing before finishing, "What a refreshing sight."

"Xatu...!" The Riolu grabbed onto the totem pole – esque bird's wings with his paw and tugged hard, nearly pulling the bird off balance.

"I... Riolu..." Xatu looked like he was going to faint. So many things were happening at the same time that it was overwhelming the poor bird's senses.

"Hey now!" Machoke, indignant at being ignored, stomped forward and separated the Riolu and the Xatu. Several white feathers flew into the air as the Riolu was forced aside, his paw still clutching a few of Xatu's plumage.

"What do you want?" The Riolu angrily shot Machoke a threatening glare, "I don't have time for this!"

"That's my line, you brat!" Machoke shouted, returning the blue Pokémon's glare, "You're that Riolu, right? You're supposed to be fighting in my battle royale, have you forgot?"

"That has nothing to do with this right now!" He shouted back obstinately, "There are more important things right now than your stupid battle royale!"

"Riolu!" Xatu shouted, aghast.

Machoke stared at the Riolu with his mouth hanging. He simply could not believe the sheer brazenness coming out of this little Riolu. Machoke had never seen a Pokémon brave enough to stand up to him and call something of his stupid before, in his face no less.

"Guildmaster, calm down," Rapta sensed the tension in the atmosphere and quickly rushed to Machoke's side. He placed a wing on the muscled Pokémon's back, trying to calm him down, "Losing one contestant isn't a big deal. Just let it go. We can go back to the arena and watch the rest of the battles play out. Come on, Guildmaster...!"

Rapta glanced nervously at Xatu, and then to Riolu. He didn't know how the situation was going to play out, and was afraid that this might end up drawing his Guildmaster's anger out. The last thing they needed right now was a great brawl to break out in the middle of town between his Guildmaster and a random Pokémon!

"Guildmaster!"

Machoke suddenly swept his arm out, knocking aside Rapta's wing. Rapta's eyes widened in surprise as he saw his Guildmaster slowly step toward the Riolu. The Riolu wasn't moving away either. In fact, the little Pokémon was standing his ground against Machoke.

"So you're Riolu, eh?" Machoke growled in a low voice.

The Riolu glowered at the taller Pokémon. "My name is Blue." Machoke's eyes widened as Blue continued, "I'm getting sick of people calling me Riolu."

Machoke raised his eyebrow curiously. It's not often that a Pokémon would divulge their personal names so easily. This Riolu must be incredibly brave or foolish, he thought. Or perhaps he was just trying to catch him off guard with a false name.

"Heh, alright then 'Blue,'" Machoke spoke in a deep, low voice, "I have a deal for you."

"I'm sick of deals," Blue spat out angrily, making Xatu flinch beside him, "The answer is no. I don't want to waste anymore time dealing with this."

"Hold on Rio –... Blue," Machoke said, grabbing onto Blue's shoulder.

Blue grumbled angrily and tried to brush off Machoke's hand, but he couldn't break off from Machoke's incredibly powerful grip. Giving up on pulling out of his grasp, Blue settled for glaring at the grinning Machoke instead.

"You're tough, and you're pretty stubborn. I like that," Machoke said, making Blue raise an eyebrow in confusion.

Machoke grinned widely at the Riolu and announced loudly, "I want you to join my guild, Blue!"

"What?!"

Blue, Xatu and Rapta all echoed the same word. Machoke released his grip on Blue's shoulder and folded his arms, looking like he had just made the best decision in the world.

"You went and ditched my battle royale so you'd be able to go and catch my attention, didn't you?" Machoke said in a smug voice, believing he had just figured everything else, "And let me tell you, I'm impressed!"

Machoke chuckled as he began to list out his thoughts, "You're strong, I could tell by how you're still standing tall even with all those injuries you have on you. You're brave, seeing as how you went and stood up against me and gave me your name like it wasn't anything."

Machoke lifted up his hand and made a thumb's up, "You're the best of the best! I like you Riolu... I mean, Blue! I'd gladly welcome you into my guild!"

Blue stared silently at Machoke. Completely dumbfounded. He turned his head and looked at Xatu. The totem pole bird was also staring at Machoke in disbelief, his beak hanging open like a mailbox. Rapta was also struck dumb by his Guildmaster's unbelievable proclamation.

"Well? Don't leave me hanging here! What do you say, Blue?"

Blue folded his arms and closed his eyes, mulling over what just happened. Everything seemed to be rushing by so fast that he couldn't quite keep up. But, despite that, he knew what he had to do right now.

"No."

"Haha, great! Let me just take you to the guild ha... what?" Machoke's grin seemed to slip off his face like water as he watched Blue shake his head. Rapta sighed and shook his crested head at Blue's response while Xatu just continued to gape at the proceedings in stunned silence.

Confused and startled, the muscled Pokémon rushed forward and grasped the Riolu's shoulders, "What do you mean, no?! You're giving up the chance to join the strongest and the bravest and the best of the best! Machoke's Guild!"

"I said no, Machoke," Blue brushed off Machoke's grip easily this time. He backed up a few paces away from the muscled Pokémon, wary of being grabbed again. He shook his head, confirming his decision.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have time to play around right now with guilds and battle royales." Blue bowed and stared straight into Machoke's despondent eyes, "I need you to understand. A friend of mine is possibly in severe danger right now... and I need to find her."

"...danger?" Machoke quickly recomposed himself as soon as he heard that word. He glanced over to Rapta, who was sharing the same serious expression on his face. Machoke quickly turned back to the Riolu, his previous boisterous tone completely replaced by a serious, no – nonsense voice, "What do you mean danger? Tell me all the details, Blue."

"What...?" Blue was taken aback by Machoke's sudden change in personality.

"I'm the Guildmaster of one of the three largest guilds in Treasure Town," He said with a slight hint of pride in his voice, "I have connections to many Pokémon that work in this town. If one of your friends is in trouble, then I can definitely help you."

"Machoke..." A great wave of gratitude flooded through Blue's body when he heard that. Machoke grinned at him and thumped his chest with his fist.

"On our honor as members of Machoke's Guild, we will do whatever we can to assist you, Blue." He turned to Rapta and nodded. Rapta nodded back and placed his wing on his feathered chest, making the same pose as Machoke.

"Thank you so much!" Blue shouted, bowing low in front of the muscled Pokémon.

"So hurry, tell us what happened, Blue," Rapta said, his voice urgent.

Blue nodded and began to recount the events to the two guild members.

* * *

"Fé~e!"

I turned around and saw Sunflora and Loudred running up to Marill and I. Both of them seemed to be carrying large, heavy bundles of rolled – up paper. I quickly gestured to Marill to stop running and to wait.

"Sunflora, Loudred! Did you discover anything?" I asked as soon as they reached us. Loudred panted heavily, clutching his legs as he tried to catch his breath. Before I could ask him anything, he hurriedly shoved a piece of paper in my paws.

"Fée..." He said, still panting, "This... this is bad! Read the paper and see...!"

"What?" I pulled the paper out of his hand and unfurled it. I covered my mouth as I saw a large drawing of a Drowzee adorn the surface of the rolled – up parchment. At the top, in large, bolded letters displayed the word **OUTLAW**.

"It's... it's, ooh! It's really bad...!" Sunflora gasped, pointing at the Drowzee's face, "This Pokémon was just listed as an outlaw on... on every notice board in every guild...!"

Outlaw... the word echoed inside my head. For a Pokémon to be considered an outlaw, that means they did something awful enough that the guilds deemed it necessary to have all explorers and citizens to be aware of how dangerous that Pokémon is. It's not often that outlaw boards get updated nowdays, especially after they introduced the apprenticeship system for new explorers.

But, there still are bad Pokémon out there. I thought back to yesterday, when I was attacked by Koffing and Zubat and had my treasure stolen from me in the middle of town.

I quickly shook my head and dismissed that memory. I stared down at the outlaw poster that Loudred gave me and read the description underneath Drowzee's face.

"'Drowzee: Name unknown. This outlaw is a felon who is known to have attempted kidnappings of children in: Spring Town, Post Town, and Unity City. All citizens and explorers who spot this outlaw are encouraged to immediately report to the nearest sheriff's office or exploration guild. Do not, under any circumstances, engage in combat with the outlaw. Reports have cited the outlaw to possess the ability to forcibly induce unconsciousness within seconds."

I quickly looked up from the poster and gave Sunflora a terrified look.

"K – kidnappings? Children?!" I could hardly hold back my fear when I spoke, "D... do you think he might've..."

I bit my lip and looked over to Marill. He gaped at the poster in my paws, and his mouth was quivering. He looked like he was about to burst into tears at any moment.

"We don't know," Loudred quickly said, noticing Marill's condition, "but the fact that this alert was just put up means that he's definitely in this town."

Sunflora quickly slapped Loudred over the head, making him spill some posters onto the ground. One of the rolled up papers ended up in front of Marill, where it unfurled on its own.

"He's in this town..." I echoed Loudred's words, mulling them over. Blue said he ran into a Drowzee that was terrorizing Azurill before he fell unconscious. A sickening thought ran through my head.

"Where's Blue?" I asked Sunflora, "Weren't you all running together to go find Azurill?"

Sunflora shook her head and pointed over to the end of the road, "We got split up very quickly. Blue ran ahead so fast that he left me and Loudred behind." She glanced worryingly over to her companion before continuing, "So we went to the guild district to see if we could gather up any information from the Pokémon there. That's when we found these outlaw posters."

She gestured to the paper rolls in her hands, "We were terrified at the prospect of Azurill running into that outlaw, so we took as many extra posters as we could carry and started pasting them all around town. Just in case someone sees him."

"That doesn't mean she's been caught by him or anything!" Loudred quickly interrupted, noticing the mortified look on Marill's face, "We're just being cautious, that's all!"

"So what should we do now?" I asked, quickly patting Marill's back to calm him down, "Do we keep looking around the town, or should we try to meet up with Blue?"

Sunflora handed me another poster and said, "You two go and find Blue. We'll keep on placing these posters up while asking the Pokémon around if they've seen either Azurill or this outlaw."

Loudred heaved his load of posters onto his shoulder and glanced behind him. "The way I see it," He said, waving a rolled up poster around, "We'll be safe if we find either of them. If we find Drowzee, then we don't have to worry about him capturing Azurill. If we find Azurill, then we can protect her from that creep."

"What if someone else finds Azurill and kidnaps her...?"

The three of us turned to look at Marill, who was staring intently at the outlaw poster in front of him. He clutched the sides of the poster with his paws, crinkling the paper.

"What do you mean?" Sunflora said nervously.

Marill shook his head and said in a hollow voice, "What if... what if there were more than one kidnapper? What if it isn't just Drowzee?"

"Ooh..." Sunflora dropped her stack of posters and covered her mouth with her leaves. Loudred quickly picked up her posters and shook his head.

"Don't think like that, Marill," He stated confidently, adding Sunflora's posters to his own stack, "We'll find her, don't you worry."

"But what if you dont?!" He shouted, throwing the poster away and staring at Loudred with watery eyes, "What if I never find her again?! What if... what if she's gone forever...?"

He dropped to the ground and grabbed the dirt, "I don't want... I don't want our last conversation to be an argument between us... I'm so sorry Azurill... I'm so sorry mother...!"

He stared at the dirt on his paws as he quivered on the ground. Tears began to stream down his eyes again as he kept mumbling apologies to his sister and his mother as if it was a mantra.

"Marill..." I tried to speak in a calming tone, but my voice was shaky as well. I was just as scared as Marill was. I didn't want to imagine Azurill being captured by the Drowzee, but even I couldn't help but think about the worst possible outcome. I fought to hold back my own tears as I tried to comfort the sobbing Marill.

"Marill... I'm so sorry," Sunflora knelt and gently wiped away the dirt on his paws, "But I promise you. I promise you...!"

She wiped away his tears with her leaves and gave him a confident look, "You'll have your sister back before the sun rises tomorrow. She'll be back home, safe and sound. On our honor as members of Wigglytuff's Guild!"

She stood up and nodded to Loudred, who returned the gesture by flexing a bicep.

"Fée," Loudred addressed me, "Take care of Marill, and go meet up with Blue. I'm sure he'll be at the Founder's Fountain."

"How do you know?"

"He shouted something about going to check the fountain before we got split up," Loudred replied. He pointed over to the other end of the road and nodded to me, "The two of us will go and gather as much information as we can, and we'll go and tell every Pokémon we meet to keep their eyes, ears and noses open for Azurill or Drowzee. Alright?"

"Alright, thank you Loudred," I gave him a curt nod and looked over to Sunflora, "Thank you too, Sunflora."

"Oh my gosh, don't waste your time thanking us!" She said, hurrying me back onto my feet, "Go, go! Time's a wasting, eek!"

I understood. I hastily pulled Marill up from the ground and began to shove him toward the direction of the plaza with my head. He moved sluggishly. Apology after apology kept coming out of his mouth as I pushed him. I turned around and saw Sunflora and Loudred waving at me. Loudred give me a quick thumbs up before they ran off in the other direction.

"Fée... am I a bad brother?" Marill mumbled as I turned back to keep pushing him.

"Don't worry Marill. We'll find her. We'll definitely find her."

I said that in my most confident voice. I wanted Marill to feel better. I didn't want him to be scared anymore. But...

I was also scared. Doubt and worry kept clouding my mind as we continued to run. I wanted someone to comfort me as well, to tell me that everything will be alright. But, I can't beg for such a selfish wish right now. It took everything I had to try and put on a confident facade to keep Marill from completely breaking down.

* * *

Xatu stood stock still as Blue finished recounting his situation. From when the Riolu separated from Xatu to when they met each other again next to the fountain. An acute sense of nausea began to rush into his body as he took in the information he just received.

His nausea was compounded further as he remembered the Riolu's face and voice when he begged him for help. It wasn't anger, it was desperation. The Riolu sought the abilities he had so boasted about, and sincerely asked him to use those powers to rescue a missing friend. How selfish had he been, to think about his own reputation and pride when this Riolu was trying to find help? Why had he been so blinded by his pride?

But, due to his own selfishness, he couldn't just divulge the fact that he lacked such powers. He couldn't tell the Riolu that he lacked the sight that his ancestors all possessed. Furthermore, he made the situation even worse by dragging in more and more bystanders, making it even more difficult for himself to admit his shortcomings.

Instead, he hid his false pride under a mask of bravado, of anger and fury toward the Riolu. He wanted to shame the Riolu for forcing him into that difficult situation, and for the sake of his worthless reputation, he wanted to shoo the Riolu away when all the Riolu wanted was help. Help that he erroneously made the Riolu believe he could provide.

But now, as he stood there, silently watching the selfless Riolu thank Machoke and Staraptor for lending him their aid, he realized just how lamentable he really was.

What pride? What reputation? He was no prophet. He had no great power of great prophecy or prediction. The only thing he had was the blood of his ancestors, and even then, he had sullied it with his cowardly ways.

Day by day, he would sit in his tent, waiting for a fool to be interested in his overpriced, worthless wares. Then he would take the money and waste it by gambling with Persian and his crew. Xatu remember the coin that Persian had handed to him earlier today. A symbol of his avarice, of his foolish pride. A symbol of his worthless, pitiable life.

What had he believed that he had over that Riolu? Was it knowledge? No, even though Xatu knew the value of money, it didn't matter. Even though he knew how to read, it didn't matter. Since he couldn't even understand the value of being selfless.

A sickening wave of shame forced Xatu to cover his face. He felt the missing feathers in his wing, when Machoke tore him and Riolu apart.

"And so, I'll head back to the combat ring and tell Hariyama to make an announcement about this situation. Then, I'll be heading to the sheriff's to get the news out." Through his wing, Xatu heard a snippet of their conversation. It seemed like it was wrapping up, with Machoke delivering the final orders.

"What about me, guildmaster?" The Staraptor asked.

Machoke gestured toward the Riolu and said, "Rapta, you'll be taking Blue up into the skies and making a quick trip around the perimeter. Where the two of you will scour the town and keep your eyes open for that Drowzee scumbag."

"I see," Staraptor nodded and turned toward the Riolu, "Do you have any objections with riding on me in the sky?"

"None," The Riolu stated fearlessly.

Xatu admired the Riolu's bravery. To accept such an offer without any reservations. A sense of jealousy arose within him. If he had been that strong, would he have been able to prevent himself from making the mistakes he made in his past?

His shame grew. He could no longer allow himself to stay present in the proceedings. As the Riolu leapt on top of the Staraptor, Xatu slowly slunk away into the crowd and sneaked away, still covering his face in guilt.

* * *

"Hang on tight, Riol... I mean, Blue," Rapta cautioned, "It might be a little bit rough if you've never flown before."

"I don't think I'll ever be able to fly," Blue commented wryly as he threw his arms around the great bird's neck, "You'll have to tell me how it feels."

Rapta clacked his beak, amused. "Heh, perhaps if you join our guild."

Before Blue could reply, the Staraptor extended his two dark – brown wings out from beside him. With a powerful beat of his wings, the two of them were immediately airborne. Blue stared in awe as he saw the town rapidly shrink beneath him. A great panorama of the world stretched out from beneath him. Trees, hills, and mountains all mixed together to form a beautiful pastel of colors.

"You alright back there?" Rapta yelled through the noise of the wind as they continued to ascend high and higher.

Blue leaned over to Rapta's head and shouted, "I'm fine! How much higher are we going to go?"

"Just a little more, hold on tight!"

Blue took the advice to heart and clung tightly onto the thick feathers on the bird's back.

"We're going to go for a quick fly around the town," Rapta announced, "Keep your eyes open for any sightings of that Drowzee fellow."

"Understood!" Blue steeled himself and pulled himself up so he could get a better view of the world below.

Rapta tucked in his wings and went into a dive, descending toward the town at breakneck speeds. Blue felt as though his entire body had become weightless as an incredible amount of wind pressure blew against him. Once Rapta reached the perfect height, he extended his wings again and tilted toward the side, making a wide turn in the skies.

When Blue opened his eyes, he found that they were gliding over the town, skimming just barely above the roofs of the buildings. He quickly looked down and strained his eyes, scanning the Pokémon wandering around in the town. Every street, road, back alley, plaza and district were crammed to the brim with hundreds, if not thousands of Pokémon, making it near impossible for him to pinpoint the two Pokémon.

"Any luck?" He heard Rapta shout over the wind.

"None so far," He said bitterly as he blinked away the dust that got in his eyes, "Can you make another turn around the main plaza again?"

"If that's what you wish," Rapta acquiesced and began to ascend again. Once they were at a safe height to turn, Rapta soared around in a large loop and began to fly toward the Founder's Fountain once more.

Blue continued to scan the crowds for yellow or blue Pokémon wandering around, but every time he saw a flash of that color, it always turned out to be a Pokémon other than Drowzee or Azurill. Frustration welling up inside of him, he leaned over to the side of Rapta's head again.

"I can't find them anywhere in the town," He voiced his frustrations to the bird, "Do you think Drowzee or Azurill could be in a building or outside?"

"Building searches aren't our job. Machoke's got that handled," Rapta replied, "As for being outside, there is only one safe way out of Treasure Town. And that is through the entrance."

Blue turned around and looked at the large gate that separated the town from the frontier. A massive crowd of Pokémon was still lined up against it, waiting for permission to enter the town.

"If Drowzee had tried to exit that way, then he definitely would have a hard time getting through while carrying a prisoner." Rapta reasoned, gliding in a circle above the gate.

Blue mulled over the idea of Drowzee leaving the town through the entrance. If he was carrying a struggling Azurill in his hands, then definitely, he would be stopped for being suspicious. However, what if he didn't look suspicious? A sudden idea entered his mind.

"Rapta, a friend of mine told me that Drowzee have the ability to put Pokémon to sleep," He informed the bird, "What if Drowzee knocked Azurill unconscious, and then smuggled her out while she couldn't resist?"

"You have a shrewd mind," Rapta replied, his voice darkening a bit, "As much as I hate to imagine it, that is a possible scenario. Drowzee are Pokémon that are well known to be proficient in hypnotic powers."

"What do we do then?"

Rapta clacked his beak before responding, "There's one place around here that can provide a high enough vantage point for us to see everything around Treasure Town. If we stop near the summit, we'll have the perfect view of the frontier. We'll be heading there."

"Where is that?"

"A mountain," Rapta replied, "Mount Bristle."


	12. You bastard!

**•   
Chapter 12  
**

**"You bastard!"**

Blue clung tightly onto Rapta's back as they rocketed upwards into the heavens. The two of them tore through the sky, slicing their way through the gusting wind. Layers and layers of white cloud were blown aside as the great crested bird plowed through unstoppably like a great, feathery bullet. Eventually, once the last wall of cloud was bested, Rapta halted their ascent by spreading out his wings wide.

They hovered within the vast blue sky, surrounded by tiny wisps of white cloud and backed by the shining golden sun. Feeling a little lightheaded, Blue crawled over to the side of Rapta's body and peered down at the land below. To his frustration, no matter which way he looked, all Blue could see was an endless sea of blindingly white cloud.

However, directly underneath them, Blue spotted the hole they made in the cloud layer. It pierced straight through the great wall of white, and from where he was sitting, he could just barely make out the outline of Treasure Town. From his height, the buildings inside the town looked like nothing more than toy blocks, while the crowds and crowds of Pokémon resembled multicolored dots wandering around the streets.

But as Blue tried to get a better look at the land surrounding the town, the cloud layer quickly reformed, plugging up the hole with another thick blanket of white. Blue growled in irritation and unintentionally plucked out a few feathers from Rapta's back.

"If you keep tugging like that, you'll lose your grip, Blue," Rapta remarked wryly, noticing the Riolu's tension.

Surprised, Blue quickly threw away the feathers in his paw and apologized.

Rapta clacked his beak and replied, "Don't fret. Feathers grow back, passengers don't," Rapta gave a humorous chuckle and soared around the top of the cloud layer in a circle.

"I'm surprised at how brave you are," Rapta remarked, "not many Pokémon can keep their wits about them when they're this high up in the sky."

"There's nothing to be afraid about," Blue replied as he glanced over the side of Rapta's body, down at the clouds below, "there's more important things on my mind than falling off."

"Heh," Rapta clacked his beak in approval, "I can see why Guildmaster likes you so much. You're exactly his type, Blue."

"Uhm..."

Rapta shook his head, "I didn't mean it like that," He clarified, "our guild prefers Pokémon of strong mind and body. You can be the toughest, roughest and strongest Pokémon around, but you're nothing if you lack an ounce of courage."

Blue mulled over Rapta's words while they made another loop around in the air.

"So then, that battle royale thing?"

Rapta snorted, "That? That's just to appease the Guildmaster's boredom," Blue tilted his head in confusion. Rapta seemed to notice his questioning gaze on the back of his head and continued, "Well, not just to appease his boredom."

"By hosting a combat event like that, we can easily see what kind of Pokémon you are through battle. When one is in the midst of combat, one tends to show their true self. Whether they like it or not. And that's what we're looking for. Strong, brave Pokémon that don't give up, even when backed into a corner."

"So...then there's really no point in winning it?"

"None."

"Huh," Blue gave a low whistle before replying, "I didn't think it was that deep. I just thought Pokémon joined it to beat each other up for fun."

"Well, I guess most see it that way," Rapta said in an exasperated voice, "we've already received several complaints from townspeople and Kadabra's Guild as well about how we were promoting brutality and violence on the streets."

Rapta sensed Blue's gaze again and quickly stated, "We aren't, of course! I've already told you our reasons for hosting such an event! Besides, it's all Guildmaster and Hariyama's idea anyway!"

Blue chuckled, amused by how flustered the bird was becoming. While he didn't fully understand, he could tell that the Machoke's Guild had good intentions for whatever they were planning. He reaffirmed his trust in their group and patted Rapta on the back.

"Alright, I get it," He said with a wide grin on his face, "now come on, let's get moving. We have to go find Drowzee and Azurill."

Rapta nodded and clacked his beak once more.

"You'd best hold on tight then," He said in a serious voice, "this might get a little rough."

Before Blue could ask for an explanation, Rapta's wings suddenly snapped back to his sides. Then, immediately afterward, the great crested bird began to spiral down at an incredible speed. Blue let a yelp escape his mouth as he quickly secured himself to the spinning bird's back.

White filled Blue's vision as they dove back into the cloud layer. However, instead of tearing straight through to the other side, Rapta extended his wings, catching the winds while within the white ocean and soared through the icy world. Blue shivered uncontrollably as the temperature around them suddenly dropped like a rock. Half frozen droplets of water splashed against Blue's face and shoulders, sending chills throughout his body.

"We're almost through, just hang in there," Rapta said, evidently unfazed by the freezing clouds, "Apologies for the rough treatment, but this is the fastest way!"

Blue opened his mouth to respond, but accidentally swallowed an icy chunk of white cloud instead. He settled on just trusting the bird and closing his eyes, hoping for the icy ride to end soon.

Eventually, the trip through the icy abyss ended as Rapta began to ascend once more at a high speed. Streams of white trailed behind them as they glided out of the white ocean and into the warm, sunny skies once more. Blue released a great sigh of relief as he let the wun slowly warm his body back up.

Blue glanced backward. While most of the skies was still covered in cloud, he could just barely make out the edge of the sparkling blue ocean in the distance. As for where Treasure Town was, he had no idea. It had become a tiny speck in the distance. Blue turned back forward and was greeted with an amazing sight.

"Is that Mount Bristle?" He whispered in awe.

A huge, gray monolith of rock and silt rose up above them, piercing the cloud layer. The great mass of stone was covered by age – worn crags and sheer cliffs. Hardy trees attempted to grow on the mountain bluffs while small bushes and grasses dotted its surface, painting its gray surface with splotches of green. The hills, forests, rivers, and lakes that surrounded its base couldn't even hope to match up to the gargantuan mass of rock and earth. As for Blue and Rapta, they were but tiny motes of dust in comparison to the mountain.

"Tallest mountain of the frontier," Rapta replied pridefully, staring at the mountainside, "can't imagine a better place to keep a lookout for escapees from town."

"But," Blue quickly turned back and glanced at Treasure Town in the distance, "we're so far away from town, I don't see how this will help us at all!"

To Blue's surprise, Rapta just chuckled at his incredulous reply.

"Don't worry, Blue," Rapta said in a confident voice, "being up here is our best choice for finding either Drowzee or Azurill, you'll see. Now hold on tight, we're going to land on a cliff."

Although he still felt uncertain, Blue decided to continue trusting the bird. He clung on tightly as they descended toward the craggy mountain.

* * *

"Sir, sir! A massive bird has been spotted in the skies!"

"What? Another visitor? This is becoming quite a surprising day!"

"Sir, what do we do? What do we do?"

"Perform Formation Omega! I will see this for myself!"

"Yes sir! Performing Formation Omega immediately!""

The small, squirrel – like Pokémon bounced off his thick, striped tail and curled up into a small ball. His companion, a brown chipmunk – esque Pokémon leapt on top of his balled up companion and held up his paws to his eyes. His red and yellow irises gleamed brightly as he scanned the skies, looking for the bird that his comrade discovered.

"I have spotted the bird! I repeat, I have spotted the bird!" The chipmunk announced in a loud, commanding voice, "Sentret, prepare to receive them!"

"Yes sir, Patrat! I will prepare to receive them immediately!" Sentret replied dutifully and began to roll toward the mountain, with Patrat still riding on him.

"Halt! Cease your rolling, Sentret!" Patrat shouted, startled, "We have not yet disengaged Formation Omega yet! Stop your movement!"

"Oh, whoops!" Sentret quickly halted his movement, but it was a bit too quick. Patrat wasn't ready for the sudden stop and was launched off the ball like a brown rocket. The little chipmunk Pokémon tumbled through the air before landing onto the rocky ground. He rolled forward in a small brown ball before he struck the side of the mountain cliff, halting his movement.

"My apologies sir!" Sentret stated, quickly putting up a salute with his right paw. Patrat groaned and grasped his head while the cliffside spun around him dizzily. He shook his head, refocusing himself before jumping back onto his feet.

"Sentret, I've warned you multiple times about forgetting to disengage Formation Omega!" He chided his squirrely companion, "I will make sure to mark this on your report by the end of the day! A demerit!"

"No! Not a demerit! Anything but that!" Sentret clasped the sides of his face, aghast, "Patrat, I'm greatly sorry about my mistake! Please, do not give me a demerit!"

Sentret dropped down to the ground in a pleading fashion, begging for for the Patrat to be lenient on him. Patrat, on the other hand, huffed and turned away from the bowing Sentret and folded his arms stubbornly.

"Um..."

Suddenly, the arrival of a new voice in their midst made the two rodent Pokémon spin around. Blue and Rapta had landed on their cliff, looking confused and amused at the same time.

"Egad! The guests have landed! And there's two of them!" Patrat ran up to Sentret and quickly pulled him back onto his feet. He leaned over and whispered into Sentret's ear, "I thought you said there was only the bird!"

"Sir, I didn't see if the bird had a rider or not!" Sentret argued back, "I could only see from a bottom to up perspective, sir! It was physically impossible for me to tell if there was a Pokémon riding him, sir!"

Patrat drubbed Sentret over the head with his paw, "Then you should've tried harder, Sentret!" He pointed to the skies and said in a loud, proud voice, "We are the watchers of Mount Bristle! Nothing will get by our eyes! Whether it be by sky, land or sea! Isn't that right, Sentret?"

"That is correct, sir!" Sentret bounced up and saluted to the skies, "We are the watchers of Mount Bristle! Sky, land or sea, nothing gets past our gaze! Even though we're land – locked and no ocean is around us for miles! Huzzah!"

"Don't ruin our motto!" Patrat chided as he hit Sentret over the head again.

Blue glanced questioningly over to Rapta, who just shook his head and shrugged. Rapta walked up to the two tiny rodents and extended a wing, which practically dwarfed the pair.

"Hello, Patrat, Sentret" Rapta said, making the two jump in surprise, "do you remember me?"

"Ah! If it isn't honorable Rapta from Treasure Town!" Patrat said cheerfully as he energetically shook Rapta's wing, "Your crest is looking incredibly threatening as usual, I see!"

"Yes, well," Rapta replied, glancing over to his crest self – consciously, "I'm here on some important business, Patrat."

"Important business?!" Patrat practically jumped for joy when he heard that, "Oh, please, do tell us what kind of business you're on!"

"Yes, yes! Do tell!" Sentret echoed, also leaping up and down giddily. Rapta shook his head and glanced exasperatedly back at Blue, who just shrugged in reply.

"Alright, you two," Rapta said, after a lengthy sigh, "calm down, I have an important mission for you two to complete for us."

"A mission!?" Sentret's eyes widened in response, "This business is that important?!"

"It's called important business for a reason!"

"I knew that! I'm just surprised, sir!"

"Well I was surprised too!"

"I was more surprised, sir!"

"You cannot be more surprised than me!"

Rapta covered his face in his wings in frustration as the two rodents began to argue with each other again. It was always like this. Once one of them begins to argue, the other one snaps right back, perpetuating a cycle of wasted time. Blue, having heard enough out of the two, walked up and placed a paw on both their heads. After getting a good grasp on the fur on their heads, he pulled.

"Ow, sir! Ow ow ow!"

"Unhand me Riolu! This is improper conduct! Ow!"

Blue ignored their cries of pain as he suspended them in midair by the fur on their heads. He rotated them so that their teary eyes were staring directly at his own.

"If you two don't stop arguing and interrupting him, I'll give you both _demerits_, understand?" Blue smiled kindly at the pair, but his voice was low and threatening. The two of them quickly swallowed their words and nodded at the Riolu.

"That's good," Blue gave them another smile and dropped them onto the ground. Blue gestured to a stunned Rapta to continue before returning to his original spot behind the Staraptor.

"Um..." Rapta was secretly amazed by how quickly Blue managed to subdue the bickering pair. He quickly faked a cough to hide his surprise and recomposed himself. He faced the watcher pair, who were both sitting on the ground, rubbing their sore behinds.

"Patrat, Sentret," Rapta commanded, making the two quickly flinch and stand to attention, "we are in dire need of your expertise right now."

"Our expertise?" Patrat repeated, looking confused, "For what reason?"

Rapta gestured to Blue with his wing, "A young friend of this Pokémon has gone missing." Sentret gasped in surprise, making Patrat smack him for interrupting. Rapta ignored them and continued, "We believe that the Pokémon may have been kidnapped by another."

"Kidnapped?!" Sentret covered his mouth, looking horrified. Patrat mirrored Sentret's reaction as well, but quickly composed himself.

"We're not sure yet, but that's why we're here at your lookout." Rapta pointed at the large cliff they were standing on, "We need the use of your eyes to see out into the frontier and find them."

"That we can do, sir Rapta!" Sentret shouted, saluting the great crested bird respectfully, "Patrat and I form the greatest lookout in all of the frontier!"

"That is right, Sentret!" Patrat concluded, folding his arms and nodding, "Whatever goes on in the frontier, we are always the first to know!"

"Alright then," Rapta walked back and gestured for Blue to walk over. Blue nodded and stepped up toward the two scouts. They immediately flinched at the return of his presence, making Blue scratch the back of his head sheepishly.

"Blue, would you mind describing to these two the Pokémon we're looking for?" Rapta asked, shaking his head at the two trembling scouts.

Blue nodded and pointed a finger at the pair, startling them, "Listen up you two! And stop trembling!"

His commanding voice, coupled with the authoritative way he was acting made the two immediately stand up straight and grant him his full attention. Blue turned back and grinned at Rapta, who just shook his head in exasperation.

"Now, I need you two to tell me if you have seen either of these Pokémon," Blue quickly bent down and began to sketch a drawing on the rocky cliff floor. It turned out to be difficult, as the ground was composed mostly out of pure rock, making it nearly impossible for him to draw anything. Feeling embarrassed, Blue coughed and stood back up.

"Um, sir?" Sentret asked timidly, "If you just describe the Pokémon, we can easily figure it out ourselves without a drawing."

"Oh, alright then."

Blue coughed again into his paw, "I need you two to tell me if you have seen my friend, Azurill. She's young, small – probably your size –, mostly light blue and has a long black tail with a ball at the end. Have you seen her anywhere in the frontier?"

"Azurill?" Patrat narrowed his eyes and cupped his chin as he scoured his memory. Sadly, he shook his head after a moment of thought, "No, I haven't seen any Azurill wandering around in the forests around Treasure Town, and I doubt a young Azurill could wander all the way over to the highlands here."

"I haven't seen an Azurill either, sir!" Sentret added, "I haven't seen any Azurill in the lakes or the rivers, and definitely not in the sky!"

"I see..." Blue scratched his chin in frustration, "Okay, I have another question then."

Patrat and Sentret nodded in response, waiting patiently.

"Have you seen a large, yellow Pokémon? Kinda fat, has brown legs and a long, stretchy nose," Blue stretched out his eyes, "He's also got eyes like this, and talks really slowly as if he's always half asleep."

"Ah!" The two of them suddenly clapped their paws together and shared an excited glance.

"What?" Blue quickly said, surprised at their reaction, "Did you see someone like that?"

"Are you talking about Master Drowzee, sir?" Sentret replied gleefully, making Blue and Rapta widen their eyes in shock, "Because Master Drowzee's currently resting on this mountain, right now!"

* * *

"We're sorry, we haven't seen this Pokémon before."

I sighed and thanked the Dodrio as I rolled the posted back up. After the three – headed bird walked off, I shoved the poster back inside my torn – up bag and hoisted it onto my back. I turned around and walked back to Marill, who was looking at me expectantly.

"Sorry, no luck here either." I relayed to him sadly.

"I... I see, then let's move on..." He said in a weak, barely audible voice. He bent down to pick up a poster by his side, but his paws were quivering so hard that he accidentally dropped the rolled – up pieces of paper.

He gasped quietly and quickly tried to pick them back up, but the poster stubbornly rolled away from his grasping paws.

"Marill..." I took a step forward to go pick up the poster for him, but he suddenly sped up and scrambled after it. He snatched up the rolled up poster and, to my surprise, began to angrily crumple it up in his paws. Crackling noises exploded from the piece of paper as he furiously crushed the poster into a tiny wad of paper.

After he had sufficiently turned the poster into a tiny ball, he reared back and lobbed the wad into the air. I watched, a little afraid, as the paper ball sailed through the air before landing back onto the road, where it lied in the dirt, sad and pitiful looking.

"Fée... was it my fault? Was it?"

I jumped when I heard Marill's voice. It wasn't the same, sobbing voice that I became accustomed to. His voice sounded low and hollow, as if he had just given up on everything. I turned around and saw him staring at the paper ball, his face covered by a dark shadow.

Timidly, I took a step toward him and asked in a quiet voice, "What do you mean?"

Marill looked up and stared at the sky. A glistening stream of tears slipped down his cheeks as he spoke in a choked voice, "When I brought Azurill here to Treasure Town... I vowed to mother that I would take care of Azurill in her absence. I wanted to start a new life with my sister, to help her forget everything that we went through back in our old village."

He shook his head and closed his eyes, "At first, it was difficult. Every day, Azurill would refuse to talk or eat, no matter how much I begged her..."

"It was only after we met you that she finally broke out of her shell and became like how she was in the past... but even then, I still felt as though a part of her never returned."

"Every time I left home to work, I would always tell her to stay home and don't leave," He said in a guilty voice, "I know she hated being left alone in the house all the time... who wouldn't? She's just a kid, she just wanted to go out and play."

He slouched down and covered his face with his paws, but his voice rose ever louder, "But... I was afraid. I was afraid that if I let her out... that one day, when I got home, I wouldn't be able to see her face anymore. That I wouldn't be able to hear her say 'Welcome back, Marill!'"

"Fée... was I being selfish?" He uncovered his face and turned to me, his eyes pleading, begging me for an answer, "I never wanted her to be sad, to be angry like this... I've always worked hard so she would always be able to have something to eat, to have a home to stay in..."

"So why... why is she gone?!" I flinched as Marill suddenly shouted in a horrific tone. He clutched his eyes as his tears spilled onto the dirt, "What did I do wrong? Am I just a horrid brother? I... I just wanted her to be safe! I knew I could never replace mom in her heart, but I had to try! I had to...!"

"And now... she's gone..."

Suddenly, he slowly withdrew his paws from his eyes and stared blankly at them. A strange smile crossed his face as he sat there, unmoving. I took a nervous step forward, but suddenly, he said something that made me freeze.

"I... I understand now..." Marill closed his eyes and shook his head, "I'm just... a coward."

A sudden pang of emotion struck me in the chest when I heard him say that. I bit my lip as painful memories of yesterday began to flood back inside my mind. Didn't I say the exact same thing? I closed my eyes and tried to dismiss those thoughts, but Marill's words kept resounding inside of me like a loud, ringing bell.

"I could never bring myself to fully talk to Azurill about her problems. I've always been... too afraid to face her issues. Maybe... I haven't fully gotten over mother as well, and that made me distance myself from Azurill..."

Marill clasped his paws over his face again, "If we had never met you, Fée, I don't think Azurill would've ever recovered... and probably, nor would I." He grimaced and stared at me, "I was just... too much of a coward to face her. She resembles mother a lot... maybe too much..."

"So... that's why I kept burying myself in my work..." He cracked a small smile, "So I could avoid my only sister... I made excuses, saying that I was doing this for her own good. For her safety. And yet, now I realize..."

"It was only because I was a coward."

A strange emotion began to bubble up inside of me. Marill slowly looked toward me, his eyes were hollow and glassy. The sight of him like that made me feel... angry. At first, I didn't understand why I was getting angrier and angrier. But then, as I remembered my soujourn in the beach cave yesterday, I realized.

He was reminding me of myself. His actions, his words were a mirror of my own.

"_Don't...!_"

I raised up my paw and shouted loudly,

"_...call yourself a coward!_"

...I struck him as hard as I could, slapping him across the face and leaving a large paw print on his cheek.

"Fée?!" He yelped in pain as I withdrew my paw. As I glared angrily at him, I noticed the sheen of his eyes had returned back to normal.

"You're wrong!" I shook my head angrily.

"F – Fée?" I saw his eyes flash with a mixture of surprise and fear as I glared down at him.

"You're wrong..." Tears, my own tears began to slowly spill from my eyes as I recalled Azurill's words to me, "It's not your fault! It never was!"

"But.. but she said that she hated me...!"

I glared at him, making flinch and falter. I advanced toward him until our faces were but inches apart and shouted, "She never hated you, Marill! Listen to me!"

"You know what she said to me before you arrived?" I closed my eyes and recounted Azurill's words, "She says she loved you! She said... she didn't want you to be so worried about her all the time! She said that she hated seeing you come home tired and exhausted for her sake. She just wanted you to be her brother!"

"She... she said that?" Marill stared at me, his eyes filled with surprise and astonishment. Nodding, I released my grasp on his paws and slowly crawled off his body. Still looking stunned, Marill rolled back onto his feet and stared at me.

"Azurill wanted to grow up quick, you know," I said as I wiped away my own tears, "she knew how much you sacrificed for her, so she wanted to grow up as fast as she could so she could shoulder some of your burden for you."

"Azurill just wanted you to spend more time with her, as her brother," I held Marill's paws and looked directly into his eyes, "not as her caretaker, not as her surrogate mother... but just, as Marill. Her only brother."

Marill choked as he tried to say something, but he just couldn't find the words. I tugged on his paws and pulled him into a hug. At first he seemed surprised, but soon he completely broke down crying. He sobbed softly into my ruff, much like how his sister did before. Gently, I patted his back, comforting him as he slowly released his bottled up emotions.

"I... I never knew..."

* * *

Blue and Rapta goggled at the scouting pair in disbelief. Patrat and Sentret both looked strangely gleeful and proud of what they just announced.

"What do you mean by that?" Blue recovered first and challenged the two, "Master Drowzee's resting here? Explain!"

Patrat and Sentret looked startled by Blue's sudden shout, their proud smiles slipping off their faces like mud. Patrat nervously wrung his paws together, glancing left and right.

"Erm... approximately twenty minutes ago, Sentret and I were sitting on the cliff, having our midday rations," Patrat explained, looking to Sentret for confirmation. After receiving his partner's nod, he continued, "Then, from out of the blue, a large yellow Pokémon carrying a dirty sack just appeared out of thin air!"

"Thin... air?" Blue echoed, looking confused.

Sentret nodded and jumped into the conversation, "It's true sir!" He opened his arms wide and stood on his thick tail, "Master Drowzee just poofed into existence, sir! Patrat and I were very, very surprised by his sudden appearance, sir! We even dropped our berries down the cliff, sir!"

Patrat struck Sentret over the head again, making him shrink back down onto the ground. He chided his partner, "Too much information! Get to the point!"

"Yes sir!" Sentret replied, saluting. He faced Blue again and said, "The Pokémon – Master Drowzee – looked weary and requested that we grant him shelter until his strength returned for another um..." Sentret turned to Patrat with a questioning gaze, "what was it he said again, sir?"

Patrat folded his arms and said, "Master Drowzee wished for us to give him a private place of rest until he recuperated enough so he could use Teleport again, Sentret!"

"Oh yes, that's right!" Sentret clasped his paws together in admiration for Patrat, "Thank you sir!"

"Teleport... huh?" Rapta mused, contemplating the scouting pair's words. Blue turned and looked at Rapta questioningly.

"What's a teleport, Rapta?" He asked, looking confused.

Rapta looked a little surprised at Blue, but replied anyway, "Teleportation is an advanced technique that is mostly practiced by Pokémon that harbor psionic powers. Psychic Pokémon, for short." Rapta paused and rubbed his beak with his wing, "I suppose it wouldn't be too far of a stretch to assume that Drowzee would possess such an ability on top of his hypnosis."

"But, what is teleporting?" Blue pressed, still confused.

"Teleporting basically allows the user to instantly transport themselves from one location to another within a blink of an eye," Rapta explained patiently, "Imagine that you're standing here right now, and you wish to return to Treasure Town," Rapta pointed a wing at the town in the distance, "if you could teleport, then you could simply transport yourself back to the Main Plaza with that power."

"That's unbelievable!" He folded his arms and frowned, "Then there was no reason for him to go through the entrance at all! He could've just teleported away any time he wanted!"

"True, but there's one large limitation to teleportation," Rapta mused, pulling Blue's attention back, "if I remember correctly, most Pokémon that can teleport usually do it alone."

"Alone?"

Rapta nodded, "I remember Guildmaster Kadabra once stated that teleporting takes a large amount of concentration from the user's mind, and that transporting more than one Pokémon is insanely difficult, even for him."

Although Blue didn't know who this Kadabra was, he just nodded and allowed Rapta to continue.

"If this Drowzee was indeed exhausted upon reappearance..." Rapta suddenly trailed off. A light sparked inside his eyes. Rapta quickly turned his head toward Patrat and Sentret.

"You two, what did you say the Drowzee was carrying when he appeared?" He asked in a hurried voice. Patrat and Sentret quickly glanced at each other, startled.

Patrat answered first, "He was carrying a dirty sack on his person."

Sentret continued, "It looked heavy and difficult to carry, sir!" He nodded at Patrat, who returned the gesture, "When we attempted to assist him with his luggage, he suddenly became very angry toward us, sir!"

"Then it all fits!" Rapta exclaimed, surprising the other three Pokémon.

"What fits?" Blue quickly said, staring expectantly at the great crested bird.

Rapta shook his head and explained, "The sack that Drowzee is holding must be what he's using to keep your friend hidden while he moved through Treasure Town."

"I see..." Blue mumbled, "If anyone saw him carrying a sack, they would just think it contained his stuff."

Rapta nodded, "So once he got to a safe place in town, he could perform teleportation and escape outside."

"And no one would suspect him either," Blue growled angrily, "with all the Pokémon around in town, everyone would just disregard him as they walked past."

"Hold on sirs, what are you talking about?" Sentret asked, looking confused, "The way you're describing Master Drowzee makes him sound like a criminal!"

"That's right!" Patrat added, "When Drowzee arrived, he was polite and very honorable! We will not stand for the besmirching of a Pokémon that we so graciously provided shelter and hospitality for!"

Blue sent a glare at Patrat, making him flinch and shut his mouth.

"Patrat, I need you to tell me where Drowzee is," Rapta said in a grave voice, "I do not know what Drowzee may have said to you, but we believe that Drowzee may be the kidnapper we talked about earlier."

"Proof then! Show me the evidence!" Patrat retorted.

"The evidence is his exhaustion upon arriving to your lookout," Rapta replied, "teleportation is not a difficult task by any means... if one performs it alone."

"Within that sack he carried," Blue said, folding his arms, "must be another Pokémon." Blue gritted his teeth and added in a low voice, "...my friend."

"What?!" Both Patrat and Sentret looked astonished.

"He appeared on your cliff, holding a suspicious bag that he refuses to let you see or even touch, and demands that you give him a private place to rest..." Blue conjectured, "Doesn't that seem suspicious to you?"

"I – if you put it that way, sir..." Sentret replied uneasily, glancing nervously at Patrat.

"Baseless!" Patrat retorted as he pointed a finger at Blue, "Baseless conjecture! How do we know you're not lying?"

Blue growled angrily, making Patrat falter slightly. But the little chipmunk shook his head and retained his vigil.

"Patrat," Rapta said in a sharp tone, "this Pokémon has my confidence. Do you not trust me as well?"

With a graceful flourish, Rapta pulled out a tiny, gleaming object from within his feathers. He flashed the object at Patrat and Sentret proudly.

"I am Rapta, third – in – command of Machoke's Guild. This badge of mine proves my authority, and with that authority, I speak with full confidence that what this Riolu is saying is true."

"An explorer's badge!" Patrat and Sentret were awed by the shining badge on Rapta's wing. Then, the two of them quickly stood up straight and saluted the great crested bird.

"I – we understand your authority, honorable Rapta!" Patrat stated in a respectful voice, "Please forgive us for doubting you!"

"Very well," Rapta, looking pleased with himself, put his badge away and winked at Blue. "Such frivolities tend to be convenient, don't you think?" He whispered humorously to the Riolu, who nodded and smiled.

Clearing his throat, Rapta addressed the scouting pair again, "Now, we believe that this Master Drowzee may be a dangerous kidnapper. We are here to arrest this criminal, and we require your full cooperation, Patrat, Sentret."

Patrat and Sentret hurriedly saluted the bird again.

"Y – yes, of course sirs!" Sentret spoke in an enthusiastic voice, "We will gladly take you to the criminal!"

"If you are absolutely sure that Master Drowzee is a criminal," Patrat nodded, "then we have no reason to doubt you, honorable Rapta!"

"Alright then," Rapta extended a wing and shoved Blue forward, "take him along with you to Drowzee, but do not reveal yourselves."

"Huh?" Blue quickly turned around and gazed at Rapta, "You're not coming?"

"No," Rapta shook his crested head, "I must return to Treasure Town and report our findings to the guild and to the Sheriff."

The bird pointed at the skies, "It's much faster for me to return on my own," Rapta noticed the look on Blue's face, "Do not worry, I will return with help. But for now, I require you to keep an eye on the criminal."

"If possible," Rapta rubbed his beak with his wing, "do not engage him in combat until I have returned with assistance. There is a possibility that he could escape on his own, without his captive. If that happens, it might be difficult to find him again." Rapta noticed the unhappy look on Blue's face and added, "If what Patrat and Sentret said is true, Drowzee is most likely exhausted and incapable of teleporting away with his captive for a while. It'll be simple for you to just watch him until I return."

"Alright Rapta," Blue nodded, but still looked unconvinced, "I'll keep an eye on him."

The great crested bird nodded in return and spread his wings. With a powerful flap, Rapta launched himself back into the air. After giving Blue one last glance, he turned around and soared back toward Treasure Town. Blue watched as the gray bird slowly shrunk into the distance. Once Rapta was out of sight, he turned around and faced the scouting pair.

"Patrat, Sentret," He commanded, "take me to Drowzee now, but don't alert him of our presence."

"Yes sir!" Sentret said, giving him a quick salute. Patrat followed suit, saluting respectfully at the Riolu. Blue nodded and the three proceeded deeper into the mountain.

* * *

Drowzee snorted as he roused himself from his sleep. He grumbled in annoyance as he pushed his rotund body off the floor. Slowly, he scanned his surroundings. He had slept inside of a small, rocky alcove. Tall, rocky walls surrounded him from all sides, providing him with perfect privacy. The only places in the alcove that were exposed was the small crack in the wall that he had used – with great difficulty – as an entrance, and the lack of a ceiling.

But it didn't matter to Drowzee, as all he needed was a little more rest and he can get back on the road. A dirty grin appeared on his face as his eyes fell upon the small, grimy sack in the corner of the room. Waddling over to the sack, he prodded the lump that protruded from the center. The lump wriggled and made a quiet, muffled noise.

"Heheh..." Drowzee couldn't help but snicker darkly as he watched the sack shudder futilely.

It wasn't exactly easy to escape from town with such a prize. At first, he thought that sneaking into Treasure Town was a complete waste of time. There were so many Pokémon wandering around, that it made it difficult for him to make a move. But, to his delight, a wonderful little gift managed to run directly into him without Drowzee even needing to lift a finger.

No wonder they called the place Treasure Town! Treasures just fall into your lap without any effort!

Drowzee picked up the sack and opened it up.

"Mmmph!" The little captive inside tried to scream, but the thick, yellow ropes binding her mouth and legs prevented her from making any noise louder than a muffled cry. Drowzee stared down at the terrified Pokémon with perverse glee.

It's been so long since he's been able to call any of his heists a success. At Post Town, his plans were foiled by a group of annoying brats. Unity Town, he nearly found himself captured at the hands of the authorities. And Spring Town had no targets for him at all, just a buncha old, strong Pokémon lounging around.

Drowzee felt a wave of nausea rise inside of him as he thought about his past failures. He quickly dismissed the thought and looked back down at the bag. He didn't need to think about his past mistakes, as he now had proof that he did succeed. Right inside this bag.

Feeling eager, he held the bag upside down and shook the contents out as if it was a laundry bag. The poor little Pokémon tumbled out and bounced off the hard floor painfully. Drowzee quickly picked her up, afraid that she might've been damaged by the fall. Fortunately, all she had on her was another bruise. The first came from him, of course. He had to shut her up somehow.

"Eeheheh..." Another creepy, perverse laugh came flowing out of his mouth as he leered at his prize.

"Mmmph...!" She tried struggling against the ropes again, wriggling, shaking, but there was no point. Drowzee made those ropes himself with his psychic powers. It was a skill he had long thought was worthless, but now, he understood the sheer potential that a disabling wrap could have.

"Don't bother..." He said, making his captive freeze at the sound of his voice. Oh, such a reaction made Drowzee feel so gleeful inside. He quashed a desire to laugh and said, "these ropes will only break... when I want them to... so save your strength..."

"Mmmphhh!" Salty tears streamed down the little Pokémon's face as she struggled even more. Drowzee frowned. Didn't he just say that she should stop struggling? He hated it when others disobeyed his words. Such disobedience should be punished.

He raised up his other hand and balled it into a fist. His captive saw the fist and froze in fear.

"That's better..." Drowzee said, grinning cruelly as he revelled in the Pokémon's expression. A pleasurable tingle of excitement exploded inside of Drowzee's body. It was an amazing feeling, to finally be stronger than another! It was an intoxicating feeling that Drowzee wanted experience more and more.

His fist hovered over the captive's face. If he struck the girl, would she show him an even pleasurable expression? He just couldn't wait. He had to try!

"Mmmph!" The look in her eyes, the fear, the horror, he wanted more! He swung his fist forward!

"_You_ _bastaaaaaaard_!"

Suddenly, he felt his weighty body become airborne. His vision of the room became strangely sideways. Then, a painful shock exploded from the left side of his head right before he hit the ground.

"Gaaah!" He let out a loud, pained scream as his head crashed into the rocky floor. His eyes were spinning, his mind felt scrambled and disjointed as he desperately tried to figure out what just happened. He was about to punch the girl, but why... why did it feel like he was the one punched instead?!

"It's alright, don't cry. I'm here now, don't worry."

That voice... he recognized that voice! It belonged to that blasted Riolu that got in his way earlier today! A searing anger raged around inside of him as he recalled that incident. He struggled to pull himself off the ground, but his balance was marred by that sudden blow.

How dare that Riolu interfere again! Drowzee raged as he slowly regained his sense of balance. He pulled his round body off the ground and turned around, his narrow eyes burning in anger.

"Sir! The criminal is back up!"

Drowzee's eyes snapped to the source of the voice. It was those two little Pokémon that provided him this sanctuary. They must have betrayed him! Drowzee's anger reached a boiling point as he glared at the sight in front of him.

That Riolu was glaring back at him while cracking his knuckles. Who does he think he is?

"You... Riolu..." His voice dripped with venom as he addressed the invader, "How dare you... once again..."

His words were disjointed, interrupted every so often by his own anger. Sparks exploded inside of his mind as he fumed at the blue – furred Pokémon.

"I'll make you pay... you will regret this...!"

* * *

Xatu wandered the streets of Treasure Town alone. His emotions felt drained, and his soul felt fragmented. He had just spent the better part of the last few minutes raging and despairing at himself, wallowing in his sorrow and guilt.

In his mind, he kept replaying the scene between him and the Riolu over and over again. He kept asking himself questions about what he could have done. He kept wondering what would've happened if he had just stopped and listened instead of trying to force his own ideas on the boy.

The look of betrayal on the Riolu's face, the shame he felt when he finally understood the boy's situation, and the subsequent realization of his selfishness and worthlessness completely drained any sense of self worth he had inside of him.

As he dragged his feet along the dusty roads of Treasure Town, he came across a wad of paper on the ground. The ball rolled forlornly in the dirt, too heavy to be carried away by the wind, yet too light to stay still. The indecisiveness of such an object made Xatu close his eyes despondently.

Who was he? He was a Xatu. A bird of prophecies and prediction. He was raised upon stories of his ancestors describing calamities and subsequently preventing them with their predictions. But what has he done? He was born without such a miraculous gift, yet he was placed on such a high pedestal.

Xatu opened his eyes again and saw the little paper wad. It had barely moved an inch, shunted aside by the winds, before rolling back to its original position.

Xatu always wanted to be like his ancestors. He wanted to be useful, wanted like they were. But, every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was black. He couldn't see the future, he couldn't see the past, and he couldn't even see the present. He was like the paper ball. He couldn't move forward or backward. All he could do was struggle in the same place, over and over again.

He bent down to pick up the paper ball. But, as he extended his wing, he noticed the patch of missing feathers on it.

That Riolu truly believed he had the power to see. The Riolu had hoped that such a power could help him with his problems.

Xatu wondered. What if he did have the power to see? What if he could've helped the boy?

"Ahh!" Suddenly, he was jarred out of his thoughts by a girl's cry. He quickly looked up and saw a young Eevee and a Marill standing in front of him. The Eevee quickly ran up and picked up the wadded paper ball with her mouth. She dropped in a small, worn looking pink bag and gave Xatu an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, that's ours," She said, bowing, "I'm sorry for littering!"

"No... no it's alright," Xatu quickly replied, nonplussed, "I don't mind."

The Eevee stared at him for a second, her head tilted to the side as if she was thinking about something. Xatu was beginning to feel uncomfortable as she continued to silently look at him.

"Um... can I help you?" He decided to finally break the silence and ask. The Eevee's eyes widened in surprise as he did so.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry for staring," She said quickly, realizing her tactlessness, "It's just, you're Xatu, right?"

"Y... yes, I am Xatu."

The Eevee looked over to her friend for a moment before turning back. She sighed and shook her head. Then, she stared directly at Xatu with a confident look on her face.

"Mr. Xatu, do you mind if I ask for a favor from you?" She said in a completely serious voice.

"A favor?"

The Eevee nodded and said, "I've... I've read in a book before that Xatu possess the ability to see many things with their eyes, whether it be something far, far away or even something in the future."

Xatu suddenly felt his insides turn ice cold. Of all times for a customer to appear, did it have to be now? He gulped nervously as the Eevee, evidently unaware of his internal dilemma, continued to speak.

"My friend... his sister went missing a while ago," She said, gesturing over to the Marill, "If it isn't any trouble, we'd like you to use your powers to find her for us."

"W... what?"

It all felt surreal to Xatu. Here, right in front of him, stood a Pokémon that was asking him to do the exact same thing that the Riolu had. At first, he didn't know what to think. His instincts told him to decline, to formulate some bogus excuse that he couldn't. Maybe he could just teleport away while the two of them were distracted, or perhaps he could instigate some sort of ridiculous monetary payment for his services.

But, the Riolu's face suddenly flashed inside his mind, and along with it, a renewed sense of guilt. He nearly retched at his own instincts telling him to scam the two in front of him. Why was that the first thought that came to his mind? Why did he have to think that way?

Why couldn't he just help?

"Sir...?"

The Eevee gazed imploringly at him. She needed his help, just like the Riolu did. Was he selfish enough to refuse the same thing twice? But... even if he did try to help, what can he do? He lacked the power of sight, the Eevee would've had better luck begging help from a rock!

But, as he looked back at the Eevee and the Marill, he could see the hope and expectation laden in their eyes. Could he betray them now like he did before?

He had to at least try. Even if still saw nothing. Even if he had to let them down, at least he had to try.

"Very... very well," Xatu said hesitantly, "I... I will try to find Azurill for you."

"Wow..." The Eevee sounded impressed as well as a little surprised, "I didn't even need to tell you that we were looking for an Azurill...!"

Xatu recoiled. He had accidentally let the name of the Pokémon slip out of his mouth, but it didn't seem to matter. Xatu nodded and closed his eyes.

Black. All he could see was black. Inwardly, he sighed. What was he expecting? For years now, he tried and tried to access the same powers that his ancestors possessed, and failed time and time again. No matter what he did, all he could see was the same black canvas. Black, murky and most of all, worthless.

Like him.

Xatu felt a sense of disappointment within him. Even now, all he could do was let other down. He imagined the looks on the Eevee and Marill's faces as he prepared to tell them that he couldn't see anything. Their looks of despair... of betrayal...

Subconsciously, he felt the bald spot on his wing again. Their looks of betrayal... just like that Riolu's. No, he didn't want to see those faces again. He didn't want to continue living this way, to keep disappointing others and having to continue living his life as a lie.

He began to plead, to beg his ancestors for help. If possible, grant him just a trickle of their powers. So he could at least help the Pokémon standing before him! He begged them, just for now, to grant him the power of a Xatu so he could help others! Not for himself, no, but for someone else!

Suddenly, an incredible spark of pain erupted inside of his skull. His beak opened wide as he squawked out in pain. He had never felt this sort of severe agony before. It was like somebody had taken a mallet and began to pound a massive drum inside of his head!

"Mr. Xatu!"

He could hear the concerned cries from the Pokémon in front of him. Xatu wanted to open his eyes and say something, but it was as if his eyes had been glued shut. He covered his face with his wings, trying desperately to release himself from the suffering.

Then... all of a sudden, the blackness vanished. A blinding light suddenly shone down from above him. Xatu was confused, his eyes were still closed, yet it felt like he was suddenly thrust into a brightened world. He stood in the center of some sort of rocky cavern, yet he could still see light streaming down from above. A small voice suddenly began to speak inside his mind. It sounded strange, yet familiar to him.

"Mount Bristle..."

Mount Bristle? Was this where he was? Suddenly, a small pebble whizzed past his face, just barely missing his beak. He quickly turned around and saw a horrifying sight. It was the Riolu, heavily injured and barely alive, suspended in the air by some kind of invisible force. Then, just beyond where the Riolu was, stood a wounded Drowzee.

It didn't take long for Xatu to realize what was going on. The Riolu had discovered the location of the Drowzee, and immediately charged in to fight. Unfortunately, he had somehow been overpowered and was now at the brink of being defeated.

Xatu opened his beak to say something, anything to try and protect the Riolu. But, another sudden pain inside of his head forced him down to the ground. The bright world around him shattered, returning him to the black void.

"...atu! Mr. Xatu!"

He could hear the Eevee's voice again. Had he returned to Treasure Town? His head was still pounding, but the pain had lessened enough for him to refocus himself. Tentatively, he opened his eyes and saw the Eevee and the Marill holding him. He must've fallen onto the ground during the vision.

"Oh, thank goodness you're alright!" The Eevee cried out, relieved, "I was afraid that you might've fainted!"

Xatu groggily watched as she shook her head worriedly, "I promise to never ask someone for visions or anything like that ever again... it's too dangerous!"

Xatu couldn't understand what she meant by that. As he slowly pulled himself back onto his feet, his mind slowly came to the realization about what just happened. He had a vision. He saw something. Xatu glanced down at his wings in shock.

For the first time since he hatched from his egg, since he evolved from a young Natu, he had a vision.

He shook his head. Now wasn't the time to celebrate such things. The vision and the voice was still clear inside his mind. That Riolu was in danger, and now, he had the ability to prevent it.

"Eevee, are you acquainted with a Riolu?" Xatu said, his voice gravely serious. The Eevee looked stunned for a second, but she quickly composed herself and nodded.

"I'm afraid... that Riolu's life is currently in severe danger."

A horrified look appeared on the Eevee's face. She quickly ran up to the Xatu and grasped his wings and begged, "What do you mean? Please, tell me what happened to Blue!"

"He tried to rescue the Azurill on his own against a Drowzee," Xatu explained, gently letting the Eevee down, "but he was overwhelmed by the Drowzee's psychic powers."

"Then... where is he? Did you see where they were?!" The Eevee pleaded in a desperate voice, "Please, tell me!"

"They're currently fighting at Mount Bristle," Xatu replied, remembering the oddly familiar voice he heard. The Eevee's face fell when she heard that. It's no surprise, Mount Bristle's miles and miles away from Treasure Town, separated by acres of wood and hill.

"Is... is there any way I can go and help him?" The Eevee spoke in a quiet voice, "I... he's my friend... I need to go help him!"

The Eevee stared up at Xatu, desperately pleading to him, "Please, Xatu! Tell me, is there any way I can go and help Blue?"

Xatu closed his eyes and began to think about all the possible actions he could take. Out of the hundreds that filled his mind, one answer stood out from the rest. Although he had his reservations about such an option, he knew that he couldn't just back out.

"I have a way," Xatu spoke confidently. He bent down and grasped the Eevee's right paw with his wings and stared at her straight in the eyes.

"I can teleport one of you straight there, right in the midst of their battle. Are you alright with this?"

Fear flashed across the Eevee's face for a split second. But, she quickly shook her head and put on a confident, brave face. She turned around and looked at Marill, who was nervously fidgeting behind everyone.

"Marill, I'll be leaving to rescue Blue and Azurill," The Eevee said with a shaky voice, "Please, go to the sheriff's that Drowzee is at Mount Bristle."

"But, Fée...!" Marill said in a scared voice, "What if you get hurt?"

The Eevee – Fée – fell silent for a second as she mulled over his words. She shook her head and smiled at Marill.

"Don't worry," She said in a strong voice, "He's... Blue's already gotten hurt once for my sake, and now for Azurill's. I can't back off just because I'm... afraid of getting hurt!"

"Because..." Fée raised her head and shouted confidently, "I'm not a coward anymore!"

With that, Fée turned toward Xatu and nodded confidently. Xatu, a little surprised by her sudden outburst, nodded back and held out his wings around Fée's body. He closed his eyes and envisioned the same place he saw in his vision. The rocky cavern, the sunlight from the sky, the vines on the walls...

Then, within a bright flash of light, the two of them vanished.


	13. Can I be selfish for a little bit?

**• ****  
Chapter 13:**

**"Can I be selfish for a little bit?"**

A few minutes earlier, Blue and the scouting pair had sneaked toward Drowzee's abode. Patrat told Blue that they allowed Drowzee to rest inside a small, open – air cavern that provided fairly decent privacy, as it was surrounded by tall cliffs on all sides. Furthermore, for added privacy, the only way to enter the chamber was by the means of a small, barely noticeable crack in the wall.

When they reached said crack, Blue was both impressed and annoyed at the same time. The crack truly was barely noticeable. It was surrounded by thickset vines and covered by moss and other leafy growths. If Patrat and Sentret haven't shown it to him, he probably would've never been able to find it by himself.

Blue brushed aside the vines and the leaves, taking great care to keep his actions as silent as possible. The crack in the wall was just barely wide enough for a Pokémon of his size to crawl through, making him a little puzzled as to how such a heavyset Pokémon like Drowzee could've squeezed inside. Blue shook his head and dismissed that pointless train of thought.

Inside was a decently sized alcove, much larger than Blue expected. He surmised that it was probably just a little smaller than the sunny resting chambers he and Fée found in the cave on the beach. As he peered inside, he saw Drowzee pacing around, grumbling and mumbling something inaudible to himself. Then, he saw the rotund Pokémon bend down and fumble with something in the corner of the room.

He craned his head around the crack, trying to get a better view while still keeping his profile as unnoticeable as possible. Once he found the perfect angle, he spotted the object that the Drowzee was touching. His eyes narrowed as he stared a the large, dirty sack lying on the ground. A small lump was protruding out from the center of the bag.

Azurill was definitely inside that sack, he thought. There was no doubt in his mind at all. Anger filled his body as he watched the disgusting Pokémon prod the sack as if it was a toy. He wanted to rush in, he wanted to slug that creep right in the face. But, he remembered what Rapta said.

_Do not engage him in combat. He could get away._

Blue knew that if Drowzee managed to get away, even without Azurill, he could always just teleport back and attempt another kidnapping. There was wisdom in the bird's words, and Blue knew it. But even knowing that, he couldn't help but feel frustrated at his inability to do anything but watch.

Everything changed, however, once the Drowzee lifted up the sack and revealed what was inside. As he suspected, Azurill tumbled out and struck the ground like a rag doll. Blue grit his teeth as he watched the poor little girl roll around pitifully on the rocky floor. Her body was bound by some sort of yellow rope, making it impossible for her to move or scream.

He could only watch in silent fury as Drowzee picked her up like a toy. The Drowzee laughed in the little girl's face, sneering gleefully and enjoying her helplessness. It took all of Blue's self – restraint to hold himself back.

But, even that wasn't enough once he saw Drowzee prepare to punch Azurill.

His anger hit the breaking point. What little self – restraint he had shattered into a thousand pieces as his fury overtook his reason. The words that Rapta told him flew out of his mind as he grabbed the side of the crack.

"Sir!"

"Riolu!"

He couldn't even hear the scouting pair's panicked cries. With a furious snarl, he tore into the chamber and ran toward Drowzee, flames of anger burning in his eyes. Drowzee didn't even notice the intruder until Blue was already right up in his face.

Blue drew back his right arm and bellowed ferociously, "_You bastaaaaard!_"

He put all his anger, his hatred for the psychic Pokémon into his fist as he sent his punch rocketing forward. His fist slammed into the side of Drowzee's head, causing a loud _bam!_ to echo around the chamber. The sheer force behind the punch managed to lift the heavyset Pokémon off his feet and send him spiraling through the air.

Azurill made a muffled scream as Drowzee's grasp on her slackened. Blue quickly reached forward and caught her before she hit the ground.

"Mmph?!" Azurill cried out in surprise as she saw the bottom of the Riolu's face. Blue looked down at the sobbing girl and gave her a gentle smile.

"It's alright, don't cry," Blue said, gently patting the crying girl on the head, "I'm here now. You don't have to worry anymore." He gave her a comforting hug to calm her down, but still kept an eye on the dazed Drowzee.

"Patrat, Sentret," Blue commanded, making the two scouting Pokémon pop their heads out from behind the crack in the wall, "come here and take Azurill away."

"Sir, what do you mean?" Sentret asked, eyeing the Drowzee warily as he entered the chamber. Blue knelt and patted Azurill on the head before giving the little Pokémon over to the scouting pair.

"I made a mistake," Blue said as he turned back around, "Rapta didn't want us to reveal ourselves until he returned with help."

"Drowzee may be able to get away now," Blue clenched his right fist, "But, I wont let that happen. I'll make sure he's out cold before Rapta returns."

"Sir, the criminal is back up!" Sentret announced loudly as he saw the yellow Pokémon stagger back onto his feet.

"I'll be fine," Blue said confidently as he walked toward them. He placed Azurill at the foot of the crack and gestured for the scouting pair to take her away. Then, he turned back around and cracked his knuckles menacingly.

"I'll make sure he pays!"

Immediately, Blue kicked off the floor and dived toward Drowzee with his fist outstretched. His attack struck the psychic Pokémon square in the snout, and sent the pudgy Drowzee sliding backward a few paces. Not about to let up just yet, Blue ducked low and followed up with a hefty uppercut to the Drowzee's jaw. The powerful upward blow forced Drowzee's upper body up into the air.

Then, Blue clasped his paws together and raised them above his head. With a hearty shout, he drove his clenched paws down like swinging an axe. Drowzee's body was bent down from the blow, forming a strange upside – down U shape right before he collapsed to his knees. The yellow Pokémon gasped in pain and clutched the sides of his head.

"Grrahhhghhh...!" An unearthly groan escaped Drowzee's throat as he felt the pain ravage his body. With great exertion, he swung his gaze up at the Riolu, who was standing stock still and glaring back at him.

"Had enough?" Blue said, folding his arms together. Drowzee opened his mouth to reply, but a burning sensation at the back of his throat forced him to quickly shut his mouth, lest he release something more solid than curse words.

Blue took this chance to leap backwards. He held his arms to his side, fists still clenched and ready. Slowly, he gathered all the energy he had left inside his body and funneled them into his paws. This was the finishing blow. With all his strength, he'll knock out the Drowzee with his next strike! Tensing the muscles in his legs, he bent down low and dashed forward.

"Take this!" Blue shouted as he thrust both of his fists forward for a powerful double – barreled punch. However, the impact he expected never happened. Instead, Blue saw his suddenly fists stop right before they hit Drowzee in the face, as if he had hit some sort of strange, invisible wall.

He tried to strike Drowzee again with a quick punch, but the same result occurred. His fist was once again stopped by some sort of invisible field!

"Don't get cocky...!" Drowzee's voice was cracking, his breathing was shallow and ragged. Slowly, he raised his head, shooting Blue a furious glare. He stuck out his arms at Blue, palms open and fingers extended.

Mesmerizingly, Drowzee began to move his arms up in down in a snake – like fashion while keeping his eyes on the Riolu. An evil sneer appeared on Drowzee's face as an odd, purple glow began to cover the length of his arms.

"So you thought you could just... punch a Pokémon with psychic powers...?" He drawled, sniggering at Blue's futile attempts to punch him again, "You are... quite a fool...!"

Drowzee's eyes flashed a violent purple as he abruptly stopped the serpentine movement of his arms. At that instant, an invisible force exploded between Drowzee and Blue, blasting the Riolu away. Blue's eyes widened as he suddenly found himself being driven away from Drowzee at a high speed. He quickly dug his paws into the floor, stopping his backward movement.

"What...?!" He gasped in surprise, glaring incredulously at Drowzee, who had resumed his snake – like arm movements.

"You're... so foolish...!" Drowzee sniggered gleefully as his eyes gleamed with delight at the Riolu's surprise, "To think... you thought you had a chance against... me!"

Blue snarled indignantly and charged forward again, breaking into a dash and preparing to slug Drowzee in the face again. Drowzee, however, just shook his head and sneered. The psychic Pokémon extended his arms out to his side as the purple blow began to coalesce around his palms.

"This'll... give you quite a shock...!"

Suddenly, two spherical explosions of purple emitted from his palms. Blue halted his advance and covered his face, expecting another powerful force to strike him. However, no such force came. Blue cautiously peered out from behind his guard, wondering what happened.

"Heeh... heheheh...!" Drowzee's entire body had gained a bright, neon purple outline. He shoved his pudgy arms forward, palms facing Blue. Blue kept his arms over his face, waiting for an invisible impact to hit him.

All of a sudden, his head was jerked forward as a sharp impact struck him from behind. Blue let out a yelp of pain as he quickly spun around to see the assailant. But, there was nothing behind him at all.

"Ehhhehehh... what are you looking at?"

Blue turned back around at the sound of Drowzee's voice. Right as he did so, a small projectile struck him between the eyes, blasting his head backward. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a small pebble clattering onto the ground. The Riolu leapt backward again and touched his face with his paw. When he withdrew it, he saw that his paw was covered in a smattering of red.

"What...?!" Blue shouted out of surprise. Then, he felt a strange vibration around him, followed by a cacophony of loud, clattering sounds. Blue quickly spun around and saw an incredible sight.

Pebbles of all shapes and sizes were trembling on the rocky floor, creating an absolutely awful din. Slowly, every shard, fragment and chunk of rock began to hover off the ground. They rose several inches into the air before suspending themselves as if they were tied to invisible puppet strings.

"What is this?" Blue suddenly found himself surrounded by an entire army of tiny, jagged stones. All of which were now pointed directly at him.

"This... this is my power, you fool...!" Drowzee shouted in a ragged voice, "I'm... I'm strong... and you're just a weakliiiiiiing!"

Drowzee forcefully clapped his hands together. Immediately, every pebble closed in on Blue at an alarming speed. Given nearly no time to react, Blue hastily ran away.

"You can't escape...!" Drowzee began to wave his arms like a conductor at an orchestra, directing the stones around the chamber. The cloud of pebbles clacked and clattered against each other as they zoomed toward the escaping Riolu in a swarm.

Blue attempted to parry as many rocks as he could while he ran, batting away pebbles and stones with his paws. But for every stone he deflected with his fists, two more took its place. Eventually, he just couldn't keep up with the onslaught of rocks. A single pebble snuck past his guard and stuck him squarely in the side. Blue gasped in pain as he tumbled to the ground. As soon as he fell, the horde of rocks were upon him.

Stone after stone struck his body mercilessly, creating stinging welts all over his arms and legs. He let loose a roar of pain as an unending rain of pebbles clattered against his injured right leg, sending him crashing down onto the stone floor as more and more rocks struck his body.

Defiantly, he continued to swat at the flying stones, but it served little to no purpose, as the rocks just maneuvered around his fists and struck at his body.

"Hehh... so this is all you got...?" Blue could hear Drowzee's mocking voice over the hail of pebbles, "Did you think you were some sort of... great hero...?"

A particularly large and jagged stone struck Blue's forehead as Drowzee finished his sentence. The wound on his forehead worsened considerably, as Blue felt a trickle of red spill down his face.

"Did you think... just because you were brave... that you could rush into any situation... and win?!" Drowzee shouted shrilly as he sent another wave of rocks cascading toward the Riolu, "Defeat... defeat the villain... and rescue the princess... what a laugh!"

Drowzee conjured up more pebbles and raised up his arms, "I'll show you... that this world has no heroes..."

Blue closed his eyes and endured the avalanche of pebbles that crashed down on him.

"There's only... the strong... and... the _weak!_"

"So give... give up!" Drowzee's breathing became more and more ragged as he slammed another wave of pebbles onto the fallen Riolu, "I'm the strong... I'm the strong one now... and you're the weak! You're weak!"

Suddenly, the pebbles all clattered onto the ground, released from their invisible puppet strings. Blue weakly opened an eye and saw that Drowzee had bent over, clutching his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

"I'll... I'll..." The purple outline began to reform around Drowzee's body as he raised up one of his arms, "I'll... show you all... that I'm no longer... a weakling...!"

Blue felt a strange sensation on his right arm. A faint, purple glow began to surround his limb as Drowzee stood back up. All of a sudden, he was yanked up into the air by the same invisible force that controlled the pebbles. He hung in the air like a limp doll, suspended by invisible strings on his right arm.

"Haah... haah..." Sweat poured from Drowzee as he struggled to keep the Riolu in the air with his mind. He stared at the Riolu with gleeful eyes. Blue's arms and legs were covered in tiny bruises and cuts. His face was marred by a stream of blood coming from his forehead, staining his blue fur with a streak of red. Drowzee sneered blithely and said, "Look at you... so... so stupid looking and..."

He paused to catch his breath, accidentally allowing Blue to slip from the air slightly. Drowzee quickly realized his mistake and refocused himself, pulling the Riolu back up into his puppet – like pose. Drowzee quickly looked back up at the Riolu with a victorious smile on his face.

"What... what's with that look on your face...?"

He felt as though his grin was wiped off his face. The Riolu didn't look defeated at all, in fact, he looked the complete opposite. The Riolu's eyes were still alive, and they were still glaring daggers at him. He still wanted to fight, despite his helpless and ragged form...!

"You... you're mocking me...!" Drowzee raged, "Just... just like everyone else...!"

The yellow Pokémon's eyes fell onto the Riolu's injured right leg. A cruel thought ran through the Drowzee's mind. He smirked as he held his right arm forward, forcing the Riolu's right leg to levitate up along with his arm.

"Your leg... I see that it's still... injured..." He sneered, remembering the Riolu's weakness from earlier in the day, "How about... I tear it off... for you...?"

That should do it. That will wipe that disgusting look off the Riolu's face. He saw the Riolu's head slump down. No Pokémon in the world should be able to withstand such a potent threat! He'll have the Riolu begging him for mercy soon enough!

"...go ahead."

"What...?!" Drowzee was taken aback, "What did you just say?

"Are you deaf...? I said, go ahead!"

Blue snapped his head back up and shot Drowzee a fiery glare. He opened his mouth, baring his fangs at his captor.

"If you tear off my leg, then I'll just go and take it back from you!" He snarled back furiously, "I'll even go one further, I'll use my leg as a club and knock you out with it!"

Blue struggled ferociously against his invisible bindings, snarling and roaring as he attempted to break the ethereal ropes attached to his arm and leg. He sent another ferocious glare at Drozee, "Come on, you coward!"

Drowzee took a step backward, fear and surprise shining in his eyes.

He hadn't expected that kind of response from the Riolu. After all, who would?! What kind of mad Pokémon would willing give up a leg in this kind of situation?

"You... you're bluff... you're bluff..." Drowzee choked on his words. He felt a strange resonance inside his mind. Every time Blue struggled against his psychic bindings, he felt as if someone had punched him in the face. Waves and waves of unfamiliar energy rushed out of the Riolu, slamming into Drowzee like a tidal wave.

"No... no..." Drowzee's eyes widened out of fear as he raised up his right arm, "You're... you're supposed to be the weak one... and I'm the strong one!"

Drowzee stared at the Riolu with terror in his eyes. Why was he afraid of someone who he had already rendered helpless? Why was his eyes still alive when the rest of his body was in tatters? Drowzee just couldn't understand. He was the strong one and the Riolu was weak! The Riolu should've been just like him in the past! This didn't make any sense!

His hand hovered in the air, twitching and trembling. Blue stared silently at Drowzee, his eyes daring the psychic Pokémon to clench his fist.

"You... I'm... I don't...!" Drowzee's words became slurred and incomprehensible. His mind was nearing its limit. He couldn't continue to hold the Riolu and the legion of stones for much longer. He had to do something now!

"Uraaaaaaaaghh!" He released a strained – sounding groan, spreading his purple aura around his body. Immediately, Blue's body began to levitate higher and higher. Eventually, the Riolu was elevated to the top of the cavern.

"I... I wont hear anymore words out of you...!" Drowzee grunted with exertion as he twisted his arms around. A sneer appeared on Drowzee's face as he watched Blue's body slowly rotate in midair until his head was now facing down.

His eyes glinted maliciously as he brought both of his arms up, lifting Blue higher a few more inches.

"You're... you're gone...!" Drowzee hissed as he wildly swung his arms down.

The invisible strings attached to Blue's arms and legs suddenly began to pull him down. He felt a sudden rush of wind against his body as he began to plummet toward the rocky floor.

Blue tried to right himself in midair, thinking that at least he could try and land in a less dangerous position. But, even though he was no longer forcibly suspended in midair, the strings were still pulled taut against his limbs, preventing him from moving at all. All he could do was watch as his head drew closer and closer to the ground.

Blue shut his eyes against the inevitable. As the winds wrapped around him like an icy cloak, flashes of memory appeared in his mind. From when he first woke up to the beach, to when the Kabuto injured his leg, to when he had that fight against the bullies, and to when he first entered the town. Blue felt a little bemused smile crawl on his face as he realized that his memories only stretched to about a day and a half. What a pathetic life, he thought.

But, most of all, he thought of the friend he was leaving behind. The young Eevee's crying face appeared in his mind. He remembered when he first met her on the beach. Was she crying then? He couldn't recall. But he remembered when he first woke up, how the first thing he saw was her concerned and worried face. If he could move his head, he would've shook it at that memory.

His body was falling faster and faster now. It felt like an eternity was passing between his fall and the impact. One last memory surfaced inside his mind.

_'Yes Fée. Let's go together tomorrow. Now let me go to sleep.'_

Right, he said that to her. He promised her that he would stick together with her as they visited Treasure Town.

'Looks like I'm breaking another promise,' Blue thought to himself, 'I'm sorry, Fée...'

Blue opened his eyes. In that split second of vision, he saw Drowzee's disgusting smile. Then, everything flashed white.

* * *

_"Bluuuuuuue!"_

I dived.

When the bright white light faded, I found myself standing in the center of an unfamiliar rocky cavern. Xatu collapsed behind me, looking as though he was exhausted. But that wasn't what caught my eye. Right in front of me, falling at an incredible speed, I saw Blue falling head first.

I didn't even have time to think. I just charged toward him as fast as I could.

I slammed into his chest with my head right before he hit the ground. We tumbled away as my tackle canceled his downward momentum. I saw his eyes fly open in surprise as I grabbed him by tightly by the waist with my paws. We tumbled roughly across the floor together like a ball. I shut my eyes and cradled his body protectively, trying to keep him as safe as I possibly could.

Eventually, we slid to a stop. My head was spinning and the huge rush of adrenaline I felt was quickly fading, leaving me with a heavy sense of exhaustion.

"F – Fée...?" I heard him slowly groan out my name. Slowly, I shook the dizziness out of my head and opened my eyes.

Tears filled my eyes as I saw him lying beneath me. His body was injured all over. Bruises, cuts and other horrible injuries covered his entire body. The fur on his forehead and chest was stained red by the wound on his head, and his right leg... I couldn't even bear to look.

"Oh... oh, Blue...!" I buried my head into his chest and sobbed. A strange sense of relief filled me as I felt his heart beating underneath his fur. Even though he was so battered and bloody, I was so happy that he was still conscious and alive.

"Guh...!" I heard him cough painfully as I tightened my grasp around his body, "Fée... where did... augh! How did you?!"

"Oh!" My eyes snapped open in surprise. I saw him smiling painfully at me as I was lying on top of him. My face flushed bright red as I quickly released my vicegrip on his chest. I shook my head and quickly rolled off his body.

Blue coughed painfully and tried to stand back up. But, as he put weight on his mangled right leg, he collapsed and fell forward.

"Blue!" I quickly wedged myself between his body and the ground. He grabbed onto my back and stopped himself from slamming into the rocky floor.

"Fée... how did you get here?" He asked in a weak voice as he tried to use my body as leverage to stand back up.

I shook my head and placed my head underneath Blue's chest. With a gentle push, I shoved him back, making him fall backward and into a sitting position. He gaped at me, surprised, as I quickly pulled the torn bag off my neck.

"Hold still, Blue," I instructed him as I quickly withdrew an Oran Berry out of my bag. As I held the little blue berry, I felt a strange sense of gratitude. This little berry has helped me out so much lately that I've grown quite fond of it. Mentally, I thanked it and quickly held it in front of Blue's face.

"What is –?" He began to say in a confused tone. But I just shook my head and stuffed it into his mouth, interrupting his question.

"Eat it, it'll make you feel better." I said impatiently. Blue, although still looking a little confused, nodded obediently and began to chew the berry.

While he was slowly eating the Oran Berry, I looked over to the other side of the room. There, I saw a Drowzee kneeling in the corner. Sweat poured from the grotesque Pokémon as he panted heavily. The Drowzee was breathing heavily, and his face looked like it was heavily bruised from multiple punches. I shuddered as I watched him glare daggers at the two of us.

"Eevee..." I heard Mr. Xatu speak from behind me. I turned around and saw him panting heavily as he stumbled his way over to us. After taking a deep breath, he pointed at Blue with his wing and asked in a quiet voice, "...will the Riolu be alright?"

"Xa... Xatu?" Blue must've already swallowed the berry. He struggled to get back onto his feet as he gaped at Mr. Xatu, "Why are you here too...?"

"You two know each other?" I said, a little confused.

"Somewhat," Mr. Xatu stated in a nervous voice as he gave Blue his wing to pull him back up. Mr. Xatu shook his head and placed his wings on Blue's shoulders. He looked Blue in the eyes and said, "I'm... I'm sorry Riolu..."

"What...?" Blue tilted his head in confusion, "What for?"

Mr. Xatu shook his head again and replied, "For everything. For not assisting you when I should've... for trying to use you for my own purposes when you trusted me..."

"I don't care," Blue bluntly stated, making Mr. Xatu's eyes widen, "It doesn't matter what happened in the past, Xatu. You're here now, so you're helping me out, right?"

"Y... yes, I suppo –"

Suddenly, Mr. Xatu's words were cut short by something small and fast whizzing past us. Blue snarled and quickly grabbed Mr. Xatu's wing and my paw. He yanked us down to the ground as even more hard missiles flew past us, just barely missing our heads.

"Drowzee...!" Blue growled angrily as he punched away one of the missiles aimed at him. The pebble clattered onto the ground as Blue impudently pointed a paw at Drowzee.

"You... how dare you weaklings ignore... me...!" The Drowzee spoke in a pained, exhausted as the two of them glared at each other. As I slowly got back up, I saw the yellow Pokémon kneeling on the ground, his arms covered in some sort of eerie purple aura. He was levitating an immense quantity of pebbles behind him using some sort of psychic power. I tried to take a step forward, but Blue stopped me by putting his paw in front of my face.

"You... Riolu..." The Drowzee continued to speak in his horrid voice as he controlled more and more stones behind him, "I was... so close... you... got lucky...!"

Blue didn't answer. I saw his paw in front of me clench into a fist instead. Was he going to just run ahead and punch the Drowzee? He can't!

"Blue, you can't fight anymore!" I shouted at him hoarsely, "Your body's too injured! If you keep fighting, you'll just be hurting yourself even more!"

"She's right, Riolu!" Mr. Xatu agreed, "Furthermore, that Pokémon possesses psychic abilities! Even if you were healthy enough to punch him, he can just stop you in your tracks without even touching you!"

"I've already punched him before," Blue responded bluntly, "and I can do it again."

"Blue!" I shouted at him, but it was too late. He had already rushed forward, despite all the injuries present on his arms and legs. Was giving him that Oran Berry a bad idea?! It might've been able to give him some energy, but it can't heal up all his injuries just like that!

"You're an... idiot!" The Drowzee flung his entire army of pebbles directly at the charging Blue. If any of them struck him now, he'll be knocked out immediately! There was no way Blue could win against such an onslaught in his state!

"Noooo!" I screamed out loud as I ran after Blue. The wave of stones were mere inches away from him now, but Blue showed no signs of slowing down. I urged myself to go faster, I wanted to do something to save him, whether it was knocking him out of the way or blocking the stones myself! I didn't want to see him get hurt anymore, for anyone's sake! He was my friend, and I want him with me! Please, don't push yourself anymore, Blue!

"Light Screen!" Suddenly, a bright flash of light emitted from between Drowzee and Blue, followed by the sound of hundreds of stones colliding against something hard.

"What...?!" Drowzee and Blue both shouted the same thing. I couldn't blame them. From out of nowhere, a great wall made of a wondrous light had erected itself between Blue and Drowzee, blocking every missile that the yellow Pokémon had sent at us.

"Riolu!" Everyone's heads turned toward Mr. Xatu, who had extended both of his white wings out to his side. His eyes were glowing a beautiful blue color as he shouted loudly, "I will abandon you no longer! I'll protect you while you attack that criminal!"

"Xatu!" Blue smiled widely at Mr. Xatu. Then, Blue turned toward me and gave me a quick look. Was he telling me to fight alongside him? Right as I was pondering that thought, Blue gave me a nod, confirming my thoughts.

"Let's go, Fée!"

A burning flame of courage was ignited inside me. Blue, Mr. Xatu, and I, we're all fighting together against this enemy! I nodded back at my friend, and we both turned to face the Drowzee, who was pounding futilely against the great wall of light that Mr. Xatu had created.

"Gyaaaaaaah!" Drowzee screamed in a shrill voice, pounding his fist against the wall, "This... this cannot be...! I won't... I won't lose to weaklings!"

His hands began to glow purple once more as he slammed it against the wall. I heard Mr. Xatu make a loud, pained squawk as the wall shattered into a million, glittering fragments. The Drowzee sneered at Blue and I as he raised his arms again, ready to fire off another volley of stones.

"No!" I shouted. Before Drowzee could do anything, I was already running ahead at a ridiculous speed. The room around me became a blur as I blazed forward, headfirst. I felt a few pebbles collide against my face as I plowed through the hail of stones, but it wasn't enough to stop my advance. Within seconds, I broke through the Drowzee's shield of stones and slammed my head right into his bulbous gut!

"Gyeeegh!" He emitted a satisfying screech as he was blown backwards by my speedy blow. I bounced off his body as he was sent flying backwards. The pebbles he was controlling dropped out of the sky and clattered onto the ground. As I paused to catch my breath, I saw a blue blur rush past me.

Despite how injured he was, Blue was still running at an incredible speed. I was awed at his tenacity. His bright red eyes looked as though they were twin flames as he glared at the dazed Drowzee. He leaned back and raised up his right fist. Then, he stomped the ground with his right foot and skidded to a stop.

"How does a weakling's blow feel to you?!" Blue shouted as he used the remaining momentum from his dash to send the back of his right first at Drowzee. He struck the Drowzee's snout with the small, bony bump on the back of his paw. I winced sympathetically as I saw the Drowzee's head twist around from the sheer force of Blue's backhand.

But it wasn't over yet, Blue extended his left paw and grabbed onto Drowzee's long, stretchy snout before he was blown even farther back. With a loud shout of exertion, Blue yanked the Drowzee back and somehow managed to hurl a Pokémon larger than him over his shoulder. I watched as the fat, yellow Drowzee sailed through the air like a strangely shaped bird.

"Fée!" I was snapped out of my daze by Blue's shout. He pointed at me with his paw, and then pointed at the Drowzee sailing toward me. At first, I didn't understand what he meant, but then, he tapped his head with his paw.

Memories of yesterday's attack against the Koffing and Zubat resurged into my mind. Instinctively, I understood what Blue meant by that. I gazed up at the Drowzee. He was flying closer and closer to me. Putting what little energy I had left into my legs, I bounded off the floor and up at the Drowzee.

Before yesterday, I've been in a fight before in my entire life. But, strangely enough, every movement I did, every thought I had felt entirely natural to me. Maybe it was because of all the adrenaline that was pumping through my body right now, or maybe it was the sheer amount of confidence that I felt emanating from Blue that was making me move. But whatever it was, it didn't matter to me right now.

I reached the same height as the Drowzee. In that split second, I saw the yellow Pokémon's eyes widen in fear right before I reared my head back.

_ Clong!_ I slammed my head directly onto the Drowzee's, making a dull, ringing sound like that of a bell. It hurt horribly, and made me immediately regret my decision to strike at his head. However, the attack worked, as Drowzee was sent flying downward. From my height, I could see Blue and Xatu rushing into position below.

"Drowzee," I heard Blue shout at the Pokémon, "you said you wanted my leg, didn't you?"

He stuck out his right leg and nodded at Mr. Xatu. Mr. Xatu's eyes and wings began to glow bright blue once more. Suddenly, the pebbles and stones that littered the room hovered around the two of them like a small tornado. Xatu swept his wings forward, pointing them at Blue's right leg. As if on command, the pebbles all surrounded Blue's leg like a rocky shield.

"Then you can have it!" Blue shouted loudly as he twirled around, balancing on his left leg. Right before Drowzee hit the ground, Blue swung his rock – covered right foot directly into the yellow Pokémon's pudgy gut. A loud, resounding _crash!_ exploded from the kick's impact as pebbles and stones flew off Blue's foot and all over the room.

The Drowzee was blown far, far away by Blue and Mr. Xatu's powerful combination attack. The pudgy, yellow Pokémon slammed into the farthest wall away from us and stayed embedded in it. His eyes rolled into his head as he slumped down, defeated.

* * *

I suddenly felt a warm pair of paws wrap around me, catching me right before I landed onto the ground. I turned around and saw Blue holding me from behind, his arms around my body.

"Gotcha!" He said with a big, happy smile on his face as he hugged me tightly.

"Blue!" I turned around and hugged him right back, burying my face within his fuzzy chest. "Blue, we did it!" I shouted happily, my voice a little muffled by his fur, "We beat them!"

Blue patted my head and smiled at me, "Hm, that sounded a little familiar," He said in an amused voice. I giggled and hugged him even tighter, making him wince a little.

"Oh, right!" A thought ran through my mind as I let go of Blue. I quickly looked around the room for Mr. Xatu.

"Huh...?" Oddly, I couldn't find the tall bird anywhere inside the room. I asked out loud, "Mr. Xatu? Where did you go?"

There weren't any obvious exits that he could've left from, and there definitely weren't any places that he could be hiding behind. Did he teleport away? After it became clear that he was no longer present inside the chamber, I sighed and frowned in disappointment. I wanted to thank him for all the help he provided Blue and I. I glanced over to Blue, who was also looking around the room with a bewildered look on his face.

"I guess he's gone, huh?" Blue muttered as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. He looked at me and sighed.

"Maybe he had somewhere he needed to go?" I hypothesized. Blue shook his head and shrugged again, indicating that he doesn't know either. We both wore confused looks as we tried to imagine where Mr. Xatu could've gone.

"Sir! Are you alright in there?" Our wonderings were cut short by the arrival of an unfamiliar voice. I glanced toward the other end of the room, where a Patrat and a Sentret had rushed in from a tiny, almost unnoticeable crack in the wall.

"We're here to help you, Riolu!" Shouted the Patrat, who put up his paws in front of his face in a boxing pose, "Where's the criminal? I'll lay him flat with my mega punch!"

"Sir, I believe the criminal is already unconscious," said his Sentret friend, who tugged at the Patrat's arm and pointed toward the Drowzee.

The Patrat slowly followed the direction of the Sentret's finger with his eyes. When he finally reached the sight of the fainted Drowzee lying against the wall, his eyes opened up ridiculously wide and he leapt into the air, screaming.

"Gyaaah!" Patrat jumped into Sentret's arms, trembling.

"Blue, sir! I see you have succeeded in incapacitating the criminal!" The Sentret shouted, squirming uncomfortably as he tried to salute while holding onto Patrat, "Much congratulations to your success, sir!"

I gave Blue a questioning glance, wondering who those two were. He caught my gaze and gave me a small grin. Blue turned back toward the two Pokémon and cleared his throat loudly, giving the two of them a start.

"Patrat, Sentret," Blue said in an uncharacteristically serious voice, "where were you two when we were fighting the criminal?"

"Erk!" Patrat quickly clambered off his partner and stood up straight. He saluted Blue and replied dutifully, "Riolu, we were – um – busy formulating a tactical combat plan to aid you!"

"T – that's right, sir!" Sentret replied, nodding furiously, "We were waiting for the – um – opportune time, sir!"

"We could've jumped in at any time with formation Alpha, sir!" Patrat added loudly, speaking over Sentret.

"That's right, sir! Formation Alpha would've completely decimated the criminal, sir!" Sentret corroborated in a voice that was even louder than Patrat's.

"Sentret!" Patrat shouted, glaring at Sentret, "Stop attempting to speak over me!"

"Sir, with all due respect, this is my regular vocal volume, sir!"

"That is a lie, and you know it!"

"I dare not lie to you sir! However, I am inclined to bending the truth, sir!"

"Sentret...!"

"Sir...!"

Blue chuckled and shook his head at the silly antics of the two Pokémon. I began to giggle a little myself.

"Well then, since you two were absent during the battle," Blue said while trying to cover his laughing face with his paw, "I am afraid I have no choice but to give the both of you demerits."

"What?!"

"Sir, that's too cruel!"

I couldn't hold back my mirth anymore when I saw the horrified looks on the faces of those two. I burst out laughing, while Blue was having severe trouble keeping his own laughing face in check with his paws. The two little Pokémon stared at us with incredulous looks on their faces, which only served to make us laugh even harder.

"Hey, Fée..." Blue leaned over to me and whispered into my ear, "what's a demerit?"

"Blue...!" I mockingly smacked him over the head with my paw. "Don't pick on... pff – hahaha...! Don't... don't pick on them when you don't even know what you're talking about!"

Blue sheepishly scratched his nose and looked away. I shook my head and continued to giggle happily.

"Fé~e! Blu~e!"

Suddenly, a tiny, blue blur ran in between Patrat and Sentret at us, knocking the two of them aside like bowling pins. A big smile appeared on my face as I bent down and held out my paws welcomingly.

"Azurill!" I shouted happily as Azurill leapt into my embrace, nuzzling my ruff affectionately and wrapping her tail around me. I returned the affection by hugging her tightly and rubbing my chin on her head.

"Fée! You're here!" She cried, muffled by my fur. Her little face popped out from underneath my ruff and stared at me. I noticed that her face was covered by a few long, dark streaks, and the top of her head had several bruises on it. Feeling concerned and worried, I hugged her even tighter.

"I'm sorry, Fée..." She apologized in a soft voice, "I'm sorry for running away..."

I patted her head and cooed, "It's alright Azurill, you don't have to apologize."

"But I made so much trouble for everyone..."

I shook my head and put her back onto the ground. I gave her a small smile and said, "The important thing is that you're safe now, Azurill."

Blue walked over and knelt beside me. He reached out his paw and patted Azurill's head, making her blush a little.

"I'm sorry you got hurt, Azurill," Blue said in a kindly voice as he gently rubbed the dark lines on her face. Blue shut his eyes and said in a regretful voice, "It's my fault. If I hadn't let you out of my sight, then that guy never would've been able to take you away."

I placed my paw on his, making him open his eyes. I shook my head and stared directly into his red eyes and said in a comforting voice, "It's not your fault, Blue. Don't blame yourself." I smiled as I recalled the words he said to me yesterday. Blue must've recognized his own words as well, as he blushed and shook his head, grinning.

"That's right!" Azurill said in a chipper voice, "It's not your fault, Blue!"

Azurill suddenly jumped up and landed on Blue's shoulder. She wrapped her tail around his arm and pressed her cheek against his.

"You're my hero, Blue!" Suddenly, Azurill leaned over and gave Blue a big kiss on the cheek.

"Oooh!" Patrat and Sentret both opened their eyes wide and made an awed sound. I found myself staring at Azurill, my mouth hanging open out of shock.

"A – A – Azurill!" I suddenly regained my composure and shouted out loud. Azurill blushed so hard that she looked like her blue body turned completely red, while Blue just looked confused as to what just happened. Feeling oddly embarrassed and a little jealous at the same time, I quickly reached up and pulled Azurill off Blue's shoulder. Her tail untied itself and smacked me in the face in the process.

"Eheh..." Azurill giggled contentedly to herself as I held onto her. I shook my head and turned away from Blue, who still looked puzzled as to what everyone was blushing about. Azurill kept trying to squirm out of my hold, but I held on tightly while I tried to keep my own emotions in check.

"Well, it sure looks like you're all having a lot of fun."

Thankfully, the arrival of yet another unfamiliar voice rescued us from this embarrassing situation. Everyone looked up at the open roof of the cavern and saw a huge bird – shaped shadow descend from the skies.

"Rapta!" I heard Blue call out, "You're back!"

The great bird landed beside us in a flourish of feathers and dust. It was a large, magnificent Staraptor. The crest on his head gleamed brightly as he turned his head around slowly, surveying the battlefield with his sharp eyes. The Staraptor's gaze eventually fell upon the KO'd Drowzee in the corner. Then, he turned to look at Blue, or more specifically, the wounds all over Blue's body.

"Blue..." He suddenly covered his face with his wing and released a big sigh. He shook his head and gave Blue an angry stare, "I thought I told you to wait for my return before engaging the criminal in combat."

"Sorry Rapta," Blue lowered his head, looking a little shamefaced, "but I had my reasons for fighting him."

"Whatever your reasons were, you should still learn to follow directions and understand the situation before impulsively jumping into combat."

Rapta shook his head and extended a wing out to Blue. But, before the Staraptor could touch him, Azurill leapt out off my grasp and shouted.

"Don't yell at Blue, mister!" Both Rapta and Blue looked taken aback by her angry shout. Azurill glared fiercely at Rapta before continuing, "He saved my life! He's a good person, so don't get angry at him!"

Rapta blinked. Evidently, he didn't quite understand what was happening. He turned over to look at Blue, who just grinned and shrugged. Unfortunately, that only made the look of confusion on Rapta's face even more prominent. He turned back to look at Azurill, who was still glaring daggers at him.

Sighing, the Staraptor retracted his wing and took a step away from Blue. He looked over to Azurill again to see if that action appeased the little Pokémon. Azurill nodded, looking mollified. I quickly picked her back up and took a step back as well.

"You've got a pretty loyal friend there, Blue," Rapta remarked, shaking his head. Blue scratched his nose sheepishly and shrugged again.

"So what's the situation now then?" Blue asked as he pointed at the Drowzee, "What do we do with that guy?"

Rapta took a quick glance over at the Drowzee before answering, "Don't worry about him now. I've already contacted the authorities back at Treasure Town." Rapta flicked his crest nonchalantly with his wing, "They'll arrive in due time and arrest the criminal. Do not be worried."

"I see, that's good," Blue sighed and placed a paw on his chest. He turned to me and smiled, "so that means we can go home now, right?"

"E – eh?" I wasn't expecting him to suddenly address me. My face flushed red again as I quickly nodded as an answer. Blue grinned and turned back to the Staraptor, looking as though he was completely unaware of my embarrassment.

"Unfortunately, I can't quite carry you, your friend and that little spitfire over there," Rapta commented, pointing at Blue, me and Azurill. "As much as I'd love to fly you all home, I'm afraid we'd only reach halfway before we'd all crash into the ground." Rapta remarked with an amused tone.

"Eh? Then how do we get home?" Blue crossed his arms and looked confused, "Aren't we really far away from town?"

"Mr. Xatu's no longer here either," I added, "so we can't ask him to teleport us back to town..."

"That's true, hm..." Blue mumbled, cupping his paw over his chin as he pondered.

Rapta suddenly cleared his throat, catching our attention. Before we could ask anything, the Staraptor reached into his wing with his beak and withdrew something small and shiny. He began to walk toward Blue, but he paused for a second and glanced warily at Azurill, who eyeing him suspiciously. Rapta sighed in defeat and decided to drop the item in his beak on the ground instead of handing it over to Blue.

"What's this?" Blue asked as he picked it up and held it up against the sun. The object was just a tad smaller than Blue's paw, and resembled that of a small, clear marble. It glinted off the sun's rays, sending rainbow light scattering all around the rocky cavern. Azurill leapt out of my grasp and walked up to the ball, staring at it in awe.

"That, my friend," Rapta added, glancing over to Azurill again, "is an Escape Orb."

"'Escape Orb?'" Blue repeated the word, confused.

"Oh! I've heard of those before!" I piped up, recognizing the object. Everyone suddenly turned toward me, making me blush once more from the sudden attention. I quickly turned away and said, "Uhm... I've read about them before in an explorer's manual. Orbs are tools with various effects that explorers use while on expeditions."

I pointed at the clear, glassy marble in Blue's paws, "An Escape Orb has the ability to transport a group of explorers back to where they consider their home. So it's extremely valuable when you end up in a dangerous situation. Like... if your party accidentally falls into a trap and you can't find a way out."

"You're surprisingly knowledgeable about explorers," Rapta remarked, sounding impressed, "I see you aren't an apprentice yet. Have you considered applying to my guild?"

"E – eeeeeeh?!" Startled at his forwardness, I took another step backward. I felt my foot get tangled up by something on the ground and accidentally tripped, falling painfully onto my behind.

"Ow!" I glanced down at the offender and saw my little pink bag lying on the ground, its torn up straps wrapped around my leg like an entangling vine. My face burning hot, I quickly pulled the straps off my leg and picked myself off the ground. I grabbed my bag and shook my head to show them that I was fine.

"Uhm...!" Joining... his guild? I wanted to tell him that I was indeed interested in joining an exploration guild, but I didn't know what guild he belonged to. It's always been my dream to join the Wigglytuff Guild, and I didn't want to let that dream go. I prepared myself to politely decline his generous offer, but he just chuckled at me.

"Well, that was just a joke," Rapta covered his amused face with his wing, "but do give it some consideration, hm?"

Rapta turned toward Blue again, ignoring my incredulous expression. He placed his wing on the Escape Orb and addressed Blue.

"This Escape Orb is currently set to the Sheriff's back at town." He explained, "All you have to do is hold it up into the air as high as you possibly can, and it'll take you there in an instant."

Blue, startled, quickly lowered the arm that was holding the orb. He glanced over at me and Azurill and asked, "But what about my friends? Can I take them along too?"

"Of course," Rapta replied matter – of – factly, "just hold onto each other before activating the orb. It'll take you all back with no trouble at all."

"I see." Blue looked relieved at that information. He walked over to Azurill and I and held out his paw at us. Timidly, I placed my own paw on top of his while Azurill wrapped her long tail around the both of ours, securing them together.

Blue held up the orb in his other paw and prepared to raise it up into the air. But, before he activated it, he turned around to look at Rapta one more time.

"Hey, Rapta!"

The Staraptor looked surprised, "What is it?"

"Thanks for everything!"

Blue grinned at the Staraptor and quickly thrust the orb as high into the air as he could reach. In that instant, the rocky cavern, Rapta, Patrat and Sentret vanished from sight. The world became covered in a bright, white light. An odd, floating sensation took over my body. It felt like somebody had grabbed onto my ruff from behind and forcibly pulled me into the air.

The sound of rushing winds filled my hearing as we traveled through the white void. I squeezed Blue's paw tightly. I was afraid of being left behind in this strange, white world. The only thing I could feel during this voyage was the warmth of Blue's paw.

Then, one second later, the white void shattered. The next thing I knew, Blue, Azurill and I were standing in the middle of a large, wooden room. Pokémon were hustling and bustling all around us, talking in loud voices and doing all kinds of activity. Blue looked at me, his face mirroring my own confusion.

"I guess..." I said slowly, taking in the atmosphere around us, "...I guess we're home now!"

* * *

"Bwahaha! I knew he could do it! What did I tell ya, Hariyama? He's a ringer, ain't he?"

Blue and I sat on rickety wooden chairs as two loud Pokémon walked up to us. Azurill had fallen asleep on my lap and was snoring gently. One of which I recognized from the hundreds of signs posted up in town as Machoke, guildmaster of his self – titled Machoke Guild. The other was a large, heavyset Pokémon that was covering his face with his huge, huge hands.

"Yes, and I'm quite sure you're happy about completely abandoning your own event," the huge Pokémon – Hariyama I assume – said in a scathing voice, "I hope you're aware of how disappointed the contestants were when they realized that the very Guildmaster they were hoping to impress was nowhere to be found."

"Ah, well it's not a big deal," Machoke said in a nonchalant voice, shrugging for emphasis, "if they're gonna impress me, then they better show their stuff right in my face!"

"...that was the point of the battle royale, Guildmaster."

Sighing, the large Pokémon left his laughing Guildmaster behind and walked up to us. He bowed respectfully before us and said, "I apologize for whatever trouble my Guildmaster might've put you through."

"No, it was no trouble at all," Blue replied in a cordial voice, "in fact, he helped us out a lot."

Blue reached over and patted Azurill on the head, "If he hadn't offered his help, then I never would've been able to save Azurill here."

"Ehehe!" Azurill giggled as she enjoyed Blue's head pats.

Hariyama looked surprised by Blue's words and turned around to look at Machoke, who shrugged and continued to grin widely.

"I see," Hariyama closed his eyes and shook his head, "although I don't fully understand the entire situation yet, I've heard that you defeated an outlaw and rescued your friend, yes?"

"That's right."

Hariyama nodded and waved his large hand at a floating Magnemite at the other side of the room to come over. He leaned over and whispered something inaudible to the Magnemite, who beeped and whirred in response before floating out of the room. I stared at the Magnemite curiously before Hariyama turned back around and spoke again.

"Riolu, perhaps you should come with us for the time being," He said, folding his massive hands on his chest.

Blue looked surprised and said, "What do you mean? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, it's not like that at all," Hariyama shook his head. He pointed a finger at Blue's body and said, "at our guild headquarters, we can examine your injuries and get you some medical treatment. What do you say?"

"Oh," Blue glanced down at his body. He covered up his scars with his paws and shook his head at Hariyama, "It's alright, I'm totally fine. There's no need for that."

"Eh?" I goggled at him, startled, "Blue, what are you talking about?"

I glared at him and pointed a paw at his right leg, "You've been walking and fighting on that injured leg for almost two whole days now. You need to go get some rest!"

Blue crossed his arms and tried to hide his leg underneath his chair, "I said it's fine. I don't need any rest, Fée." He obstinately pointed at me in response, "I ate that – um – Oran Berry you gave me earlier. I'm totally fine now, see?"

He tried to flex his arm to show me, but his wincing face did nothing to impress me. I shook my head and sent him an angry look.

"That Oran Berry I made you ate isn't enough to completely heal you, Blue." I shook my head and continued, "You need serious help before you get hurt even more."

Blue frowned and folded his arms, "I said I'm fine, Fée. In fact, I think you need more help than I do," I looked confused as he pointed at my face, "you were hit by a few of Drowzee's stone attack earlier. I think you should go get that checked out before me."

I self – consciously pawed my face. Sure, I got hit by a few of Drowzee's missiles earlier, but it was nothing compared to the sheer amount of injuries that Blue had on his body. I shook my head and sighed. Why was he being so stubborn?

"Blue, this is nothing," I said in a frustrated voice, "your body is hurt far more than just a few scratches on my face."

I softened my gaze and stared imploringly at him, "Please, Blue," I said in a pleading voice, "I don't want to see you so injured anymore. Please, just go with Hariyama and get yourself healed."

Blue was taken aback by my sudden change in demeanor. He opened his mouth to retort, but froze as he caught sight of my stare. Eventually, he sighed and faced away from me, scratching his nose sheepishly. He stayed silent for a while, as if he was thinking hard about what to say.

"Alright Fée," He said finally, turning back to me and giving me a defeated grin, "you win. I'll go with them."

"Blue... thank you," I sighed and smiled at him. It was like a heavy weight was being lifted off my back as I watched him jump off the chair and toward Hariyama and Machoke.

"Dynamic!" Machoke bellowed suddenly, making me and Azurill wince and cover our ears, "It's nice to finally have you with us, Blue!"

"I didn't agree to anything yet, Machoke," Blue replied with a frown on his face as he stood nex to Hariyama. Machoke continued to grin though as he walked up and placed a beefy hand on Blue's shoulder.

"You might not agree now," He said, patting Blue's shoulder proudly, "but I'm sure your tune will change once you take a gander at our headquarters, ha ha!"

"Save the tour for after he's been looked at by the Audino, Guildmaster." Hariyama said with a shake of his head.

"Blah!" Machoke shouted immaturely, "Scars are the rewards of battle!"

"Not if they're still fresh, Guildmaster."

As the two muscular Pokémon walked out of the room, still arguing with each other, Blue paused and turned around. I smiled and waved at him, urging him to follow them. He looked away for a second before giving me one last look.

"See you, Fée." He spoke in a low voice, just barely audible over the hubbub of the sheriff's office.

"Bye, Blue..." I felt my smile slipping slightly as I watched his back disappear beyond the doorway. I cupped Azurill's body with my paws and hugged her.

A strange flood of sadness rushed through my heart as I sat alone in the room. I didn't know what I wanted to do. A part of me wanted to run after Blue and follow him to Machoke's Guild, but I couldn't just leave Azurill alone in here. I had to stay and wait for her brother to come and take her home before I could leave. I closed my eyes and lightly placed my chin on top of Azurill's head and listened to her soft breathing as she continued to sleep. Slowly, I began to nod off as well.

* * *

I had a little dream.

I dreamt that I was standing in the middle of a snowfield. Everywhere I looked, there was pure, white snow covering the ground. Tiny, glittering flakes of white was gently drifting down from the sky. At the center of the snowfield, there was a solitary tree. Its thick branches and bushy leaves were covered with a heavy layer of snow, making it lean slightly to the left.

It was a lonely, forgotten tree.

No other trees or plants grew around this tree. It was simply by itself in the middle of a vast, empty snowfield.

And yet, despite being alone and friendless, it continued to grow. This lonely tree grew into a large, strong tree that can withstand the heavy weight of the snow piling on top of it.

I touched the tree's surface, feeling its rough bark against my paw. A strange, nostalgic feeling washed over me as I looked up into its branches. I felt a memory inside my heart. However, as I tried to recall it, the memory refused to budge. It was as if the memory had been too deeply buried underneath all this snow.

Yet, as I sat in front of the lonely tree, I felt an odd sense of kinship with it. I wanted to know where this tree was, or why it felt so familiar to me. But, as I continued to think about it, my body began to shiver.

I was sitting in the middle of a snowfield, after all.

Smiling wryly to myself, I curled up into a small ball at the foot of the solitary tree. I don't know why, but it just felt natural. Eventually, as the snow slowly piled up around me, I closed my eyes and left this snowy world behind.

* * *

"Guuh..."

I woke up feeling sore and uncomfortable. Groggily, I opened my eyes and looked around me. The sheriff's office was completely empty. I was alone inside of the dark, wooden room. I glanced down at my paws. Azurill was no longer there. Instead, there was a small paper note lying at the place where she was.

I picked up the note and held it up to the dim moonlight. It was just bright enough for me to make out what the words were.

'Fée, thank you for everything you've done for us today.'

I recognized the neat, but somewhat shaky handwriting as that of Marill's. He must've come and picked Azurill up after I fell asleep. I glanced back down at the letter and continued to read.

'When I heard that you returned with Azurill, I was so happy and relieved that I cried when I saw her sitting here.'

I noticed that some parts of the note were indeed smudged by several large water droplets. I shook my head and tried not to imagine Marill sobbing as he bent over the piece of paper, writing around his tears.

'Azurill woke up, of course, and she wanted to know where your friend was. The Riolu, I assume? But, as we tried to wake you up, you wouldn't rouse, no matter what we did. So we decided to just let you sleep. You looked really tired too.'

A pang of emotion hit me as I remembered my goodbye to Blue. I looked up from the letter and at the doorway in front of me. I don't know how long I had spent asleep, but hours must've already passed between our goodbye to now. Blinking away my tears, I turned back to Marill's letter.

'I don't know when you might wake up, but when you do, let it be known that you're always welcome to come over to our place for food and, if you want, you can stay here with us as well. I'm sure Azurill will enjoy your company. If not, then I'd be glad to talk to you some more, sometime.'

I smiled at his invitation. Although I considered Marill a good friend, I didn't want to impose on his hospitality too much. I did make a mental note to visit them someday though.

'Also, just between you and me, I've decided to take your words to heart. I haven't told Azurill yet, but I'm planning on spending more time with her. Not as a fussy mother, but as her brother. It's a little scary to go out every day, but for her sake, I'll try to be a little braver. Just like you, Fée.'

I cocked my head to the side as I reached the end of the letter. He thought I was brave? Suddenly, I remembered the speech I gave him before I teleported away with Mr. Xatu. I suppose I did cheer him up a bit as well as encourage him to... well, stop being a coward. I blushed a little as I remembered my odd confidence from before. It was a little unbelievable to think that I, who was pretty much the same as Marill yesterday, would be able to tell him to stop being a coward.

And it was all thanks to my new friend, Blue.

"Thanks... Blue..." I whispered quietly as I folded Marill's letter. My bag was lying beside me. The straps were once again tied together in the same hasty fashion as before. As I picked it up with my teeth, I glanced down inside it.

My precious treasure. The small fragment of rock that I held so dearly. Everything began when it was stolen from me by those two bullies.

I wondered. If I hadn't been robbed by those two, would I have ever met Blue?

Probably, probably not. I wouldn't know.

I shook my head and threw my bag over my neck. I stuffed Marill's letter inside of it and slowly walked out of the sheriff's office.

The cold, night wind blew across the now – emptied streets. I shivered a little as the chilly wind ruffled my fur, brushing away what little grogginess I had left inside me. It was a little unbelievable. Just earlier today, the streets were filled with crowds and crowds of Pokémon. And now, as night has fallen, it seemed like everyone had suddenly disappeared.

As I looked up into the night sky, I mulled over my options. If I headed to my left, I would be on the road back to where I lived. If I went to my right, I would find myself in front of the great staircase that lead to Wigglytuff's Guild once more.

Today's the day, I said to myself this morning. Today's the day that I'll ask them to accept me as an apprentice.

I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the cool night air. There was no reason for me to hesitate, right? Even thought Blue was no longer with me, I'm no longer a coward!

I slapped the sides of my face with my paws and took a step to the right.

* * *

It didn't take very long for me to reach the top of the cliff once again. I looked around at the now very – familiar sights. The wooden totem poles that displayed a bunch of Pokémon faces, the two huge braziers that stood, unlit, beside the road. Even down to the little dry bushes that dotted the top of the plateau. I knew it all, I've seen it all. After all, I've been here every day.

I looked at the huge, pink tent looming out of the ground in front of me. Personally, I thought it looked pretty garish. Although I do consider pink as one of my favorite colors, the tent was so brightly colored and so eye – catching that it kinda gave me the creeps.

I shook my head. This wasn't the time to criticize the guild's preference in tents. I took a step forward, onto the wooden grille embedded in the road. I felt the grille dip downward slightly under my weight as I waited. Usually, when I stand on this grille, a voice explodes from underneath, shouting out that an Eevee had arrived.

However, this time, the only sound I heard was the whistling of the night wind blowing across the frontier. I looked around, confused. It was only when my eyes locked onto the bright moon above that I realized.

It was late. Very late. Night had probably fallen hours ago and anyone who was in the guild was probably asleep by now, which included the sentry below. A bemused smile wormed its way onto my face as I gently stepped off the grille. I stared at the bright pink tent as I took a step back onto the dirt.

What was I expecting? Did I think someone was going to be there, this late at night, and let me in? I shook my head. I was being too presumptuous.

"Today... wasn't my day either," I mumbled sadly to myself. I tugged at the bag around my neck as I turned my back to the tent. Sighing, I decided to head home for the night.

"Hey, where are you going?"

I froze. My right paw was just about to step down onto the stairs as I heard a familiar voice behind me. Slowly, I put my paw down and turned around.

"B...Blue?" I stifled a gasp when I saw him. The Riolu, my friend, was leaning against one of the totem poles that stood next to the road. He grinned as I acknowledged his presence and pushed himself off the wooden post.

I was stunned, no startled, no surprised. A million questions were rushing through my mind at a ridiculous pace. My heart was beating so hard that I thought it was going to leap out of my chest and do a jig on the road. I tried to open my mouth and ask him a question, but the only sound that came out of my mouth was a muffled, choking noise.

"What, is it that surprising to see me?" He remarked as he watched me struggle with my emotions with a curious expression on his face. He took his right paw and waved it in front of my face, "Hellooo? Fée? You home in there?"

"W... wh..." I my mouth continued to gibber odd noises as I tried to formulate a sentence. Blue tilted his head questioningly at me and tapped me on the forehead with his paw. I shook my head wildly, knocking away his paw.

"Blue...!" I finally managed to gasp out. My voice was hoarse and low as I finally found the words I was looking for, "Blue... what are you doing here?!"

"What do you mean, 'what am I doing here?'" Blue replied in an indignant tone as he held his paw, "Am I not allowed to be up here at night?"

"No, I mean, that's... errgh!"

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to recompose myself. He's so infuriating sometimes! Opening my eyes again, I glared at his dumb, smiling face angrily.

"I mean, didn't you go with Machoke and Hariyama to their guild?" I said in an angry tone, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be lying in a bed somewhere there?"

"Jeez," Blue scratched his nose sheepishly, "If I knew you were going to be so mad to see me, I wouldn't have waited here in the cold for hours."

"You... what?" Once again, I found myself at a loss for words. Blue folded his arms and grinned at me.

"When Machoke and Hariyama took me away, they kept trying to convince me to join their guild," He explained, waving a paw around in the air, "but I just refused them every time."

"Why?" I said out of confusion, "Being invited to a guild by a Guildmaster isn't something you can just ignore, Blue!"

"Really?" Blue looked genuinely surprised at what I said, "Well, I guess I just ignored them then!"

"Argh, that's not what I meant!" I shook my head out of frustration and glared at Blue again, "I mean, why did you refuse? You're perfect for that guild!"

"I am? How so?"

Was he being annoying on purpose? I didn't know, but I answered anyway, "Machoke's Guild only wants Pokémon that are strong and brave! And... well, you're both of those! Plus, even the Guildmaster really seemed to like you, Blue!"

"I guess so," Blue replied nonchalantly, "he's a nice guy, but, between you and me, he's kinda stuffy."

"Stuf...what?!"

Blue frowned and folded his arms, "That guy – Machoke – keeps doing these weird poses and talking loudly as we walked to their guildhouse. It was funny at first, but then it got really annoying after a while."

"So... what did you do?" I asked slowly, afraid of what kind of answer I'm going to get.

Blue grinned widely at me and said, "I ran away, of course."

I ran up and tackled him in the chest. He gasped out of surprise as we tumbled down onto the dirt. I stood on top of him, glaring down at his stupid grinning face.

"You can't just run away from a Guildmaster, Blue!" I hissed, outraged, "That's... that's incredibly disrespectful!"

"Hahaha!" Blue laughed cheerfully for some infuriating reason. I growled and pressed my forehead against his, staring directly into his eyes.

"Blue, I'm taking you back to Machoke's to apologize, right now!"

Blue stopped laughing, but he continued to grin at me. He reached up with his paw and patted me on the back of the head as he continued to smile in that dorky way.

"Fée, if you take me back to Machoke's right now, then you can't do what you wanted to do here, you know." He said plainly.

"What...?" I replied, confused. Blue shook his head, knocking up some dust with his ears.

"Don't you remember?" He said as he gently pushed me off his body. He sat up and dusted his paws off and pointed at the big, pink tent behind him, "You said that 'today was the day!' and that you were going to finally apply at Wigglytuff's Guild, right?"

"Y – yes..." I gaped at him for a second before quickly shaking my head, "T – that's not the point right now!"

I grabbed onto his paw with my teeth and tried to pull him off the ground, but he stayed stubbornly still with his behind glued to the dirt. He laughed annoyingly at me as he watched me struggle to pull him away and toward Machoke's Guild.

"Fée – ouch!" He yelped in pain when I accidentally bit a little too hard. I quickly let go out of surprise. Blue shook his paw and blew on it.

I sighed in defeat and sat down next to him, watching him suckle his paw like a little child.

"Blue, there's no point in me being here now anyway, you know?" I said in a disappointed voice, "Even if I were to ask someone to open up, they might all be asleep by now."

"Hm?" Blue pulled his paw out of his mouth, trailing a little saliva from it as he turned around and looked at the thick wooden gate in front of the tent. He pondered it for a second before saying, "Well, that's a shame, huh?"

I nodded, moreso out of disappointment than annoyance by now, "That's why we should just take you back to Machoke and apologize. He's probably still waiting for you back at his guild, Blue."

"Hm, but if I went back now, I'd be breaking my promise with you again, Fée."

Promise? What did he mean by that? I glanced at him with a puzzled look on my face, wondering what kind of promise he made with me.

"What, you don't remember?" Blue said, noticing my confused expression, "It was yesterday, Fée! At the cave? Remember, you wouldn't let me sleep until I said yes?"

"Um..."

Blue sighed at my inability to remember, "And I thought I had memory problems..." He remarked dryly. Dusting himself off, he stood up from the ground and extended a paw to me. I took it and he pulled me up with him.

"I promised to stick together with you when we head to Treasure Town, remember?" Blue explained with a slight frown on his face, "Then you ran away from me before we even reached the town gates."

"Oh... oh!" Suddenly, my memory of last night reappeared in my head. I felt my face heat up as I recalled what I made Blue promise me. I quickly turned away and covered my face with my paws. He didn't have to take that promise so seriously!

"Well, I suppose I'm partly at fault too," I heard him say from behind my covered face, "When I made it into town, I kinda got distracted and forgot to go find you."

"Eh?"

I peeked out from behind my paws and saw him gingerly rubbing his chest. The huge bruise that was present there earlier had mostly faded away now, thanks to the salve I put on it a while ago. He scratched his nose sheepishly as he quickly covered up his chest when he saw me gazing at it.

"So, I'm sorry Fée," He said in a low voice, "I should've stuck closer with you earlier. I broke our promise. Please forgive me!"

He clasped his paws together and bowed in front of me apologetically.

I turned my head away and pretended to cough. I didn't know how I should respond to him. After all, he wasn't the only one that got distracted too. I remembered my chance meeting with Azurill, as well as being dragged into a restaurant with Sunflora and Loudred. He's not the only one at fault.

"Blue..." I turned back and smiled at him, "You don't have to apologize. It's not all your fault."

"Some of it still is though," He replied, poking his head up, "and I'd like to make it up with you, Fée."

"Eh?"

Blue suddenly straightened up and walked back to the totem pole. I watched him curiously as he disappeared behind the wooden sculpture. He reappeared a second later, holding a small, multicolored box in his paws.

"What's that?" I asked, staring curiously at the box. He grinned and put the box onto the ground in front of me.

It was a small, rectangular box with a rounded lid. It resembled that of a treasure chest actually, except much smaller than what I've read about in adventure stories. The box was mostly made of wood, but it had a small, metal hinge behind the lid so it could open up. Splotches of color adorned the box's surface, giving it a bright, colorful personality.

I gently nudged the lid, and found that it opened up fairly easily. I quickly glanced over at Blue, who just nodded at me and redirected my attention back to the box with his paw. I gulped nervously and proceeded to push the lid completely open.

At first, I couldn't tell what was inside. But, as the moonlight shone into the box, I slowly began to make out what the contents were.

"Is this... a ribbon?" I reached inside and pulled out a short length of cloth. It was pink colored, but in a softer hue than that of the tent behind Blue. The fabric felt soft and nice to the touch, and it glowed dimly in the moonlight. It was the most beautiful ribbon I've ever seen in my entire life.

"That's right," Blue said as he gently closed the box's lid. He took the ribbon from my paws and walked behind me. Then, he placed it against my right ear. I shuddered a little when I felt him touch my sensitive ears.

"Hold still, I'm not really skilled at this just yet," He whispered as he began to clumsily tie the ribbon onto my ear. After a few minutes of fumbling around, he finally pulled the two ends of the ribbon taut and backed away.

I reached up with a paw and touched the soft cloth that was now tied on my ear. It felt loose and uncomfortable, and I was afraid that it was going to fall off if I touched it again. Overall, Blue wasn't very good at tying ribbons.

But, at the same time, I felt as though it didn't matter. A smile crept onto my face as I closed my eyes and patted the ribbon again. I felt a little bit of his warmth radiating from the ribbon, as if he had placed a little bit of his own strength into the ribbon as he was tying it.

I opened my eyes and turned around to look at Blue. He had a strange, almost nervous – looking expression on his face, as if he wasn't sure if he tied it on correctly or not. I opened my mouth wide and gave him a great, big smile.

Feeling a warm emotion inside my chest, I slowly stood up and walked toward Blue. He still had that funny look on his face as I neared him. I didn't say anything at all. I just closed my eyes and rested my cheek on his chest.

"Jeez," I heard him mumble, "And now you're all nice and huggy again. I just don't get you sometimes."

"Hehe..." I giggled and gave him a playful nudge. He responded by pushing me back and chuckling a little.

"Hey Blue?" I asked him in a quiet voice, "Can I be selfish for a little bit?"

"Selfish?" He replied, "Sure, why not?"

I smiled and looked up into his red eyes.

"Can you stay with me for a while?"

"How long is a while?"

"I dunno, how about until I become a real explorer?"

"A real explorer, huh?"

"It's always been my dream, you know. To go out and explore."

"Yeah, I know."

"So..."

"Sure, Fée. I'll stick with you until then, and then, maybe even a little bit after."

"You sure you wont regret it? I'm not as brave or as strong as you, Blue..."

"I don't mind. You're a lot more fun to hang around with than Machoke and his sweaty gang."

"Hehe... thanks, Blue."

* * *

"You think they'll try to enter any time soon?"

Sunflora shushed her irritated companion by holding her leaf up to her mouth. Loudred grumbled inaudibly, a surprising feat for the usually – loud Pokémon, and ducked behind the tent's pink flaps. Sunflora shot him a dirty look and continued to look out at the two embracing Pokémon outside.

"Oooh... those two are just adorable, don't you think?" She couldn't hold back her glee as she saw Fée hug Blue, "I just can't get enough of watching them! I'm going to write this in my diary as soon as I get back to my room!"

"Yeah, and how long will that take?" Loudred grumbled as he yawned, "Those two have stood out there for almost half an hour. Who knows how much longer they'll take?"

"If you hadn't taken so long to open the gate, they could've been in here already, Loudred!"

Loudred jabbed a thumb at Blue and Fée outside and replied irritably, "They didn't even notice that the gate is open, Sunflora. What am I to do? I can't just go outside now and ruin their little lovey – dovey moment."

"Oooh.. you're right..." Sunflora said reluctantly, "Maybe they'll notice on their own eventually! I can't wait to welcome them to the guild, eek!"

Loudred sighed and shrugged his shoulders despondently, "Yeah, sure. Who knows how long that'll take?"


	14. Bonus: A Little Heart to Heart

**•   
Bonus Chapter  
**

**"A little heart to heart"**

"...I figured you'd find me eventually."

Xatu sighed deeply. He had heard the sound of rustling cloth from behind him, and the soft noise of one taking a single footstep. Furthermore, he could feel the gentle breeze of the night air flowing into his cramped tent, slipping through the flaps that protected his tent from the outside.

"It took me a while, you know." The visitor said, smirking pridefully, "I already checked here a few times, but you weren't here."

"So why are you here again?" Xatu said, keeping his back to the visitor.

The visitor took the response as an invitation to enter the tent fully. He sat on the carpet that covered the floor of the tent and grinned at the bird sitting opposite him.

"I just had a feeling you'd be here," He said casually, "that's all."

"A feeling, huh?" Xatu covered his face with his wing, "I see..."

The visitor's ears perked up at what the bird said. He cupped his chin with his paw curiously and said, "Speaking of which, how did you find me anyway? Did you really use your powers of sight?"

"Did I really...?" The bird shook his head slowly and replied in a tired voice, "Even now, I have a hard time believing that I did."

Xatu calmly moved his gaze to the ceiling of his tent. At the top of his tent was a small hole. Normally, he would burn incense and fragrant grasses to produce a special colored smoke that would drift out of the hole in plumes to attract customers. But today, his fire wasn't lit and the only thing that came through the hole was a bright ray of moonlight.

Since he returned from Mount Bristle, he attempted to reactivate the power of sight many times. However, no matter how hard he focused, he simply could not bring about that strange blackout, or that painful headache. It was as if his freak vision from before had never happened.

"I have a confession," Xatu slowly turned around and faced the visitor. With a serious glint in his eyes, Xatu asked in a sincere voice, "Will you listen to it, Riolu?"

The visitor's grin was brightly visible, even within the dimness of the tent. He folded his paws across his chest and shook his head.

"No, I wont." Blue said nonchalantly to a startled Xatu, still grinning, "But, I will hear you out on one condition."

"...and what's that?" Xatu said nervously.

"My name isn't Riolu," He said in a prideful voice, "It's Blue. Get it right."

Xatu gaped at him, completely stunned silent by his answer. He hadn't expected such a strange, almost child – like demand. It was so unexpected that he couldn't help but crack a smile at him.

"Mmhmhmhm..." He covered his beak with his wing again, but this time, he did it to muffle his amused chuckling.

"What's so funny?" Blue said indignantly as he angrily jabbed his finger at the laughing bird.

"No... I'm just... surprised, is all," Xatu coughed behind his wing to try and halt the chuckles, "I... I wasn't expecting such a straightforward request... ahem..."

Xatu took a deep breath to recompose himself. He lowered his wings and replaced them onto his chest as he placed his gaze upon the visitor.

The Riolu that he met this morning, the one who calls himself Blue. Even if he possessed the power of sight from birth, Xatu doubted that he would ever be able to predict this Pokémon's actions. Everything that Riolu did went completely against his expectations. Even now, Xatu continued to be stumped by him.

"Very well..." Xatu made a big show out of clearing his throat before continuing. He straightened himself out and stared directly at the Riolu wearing an amused expression on his face.

"Riol... I mean, Blue... do you mind if we had a little heart to heart?"

"Sure. Let's have a talk."

Xatu smiled. He opened his beak to begin his confession, but suddenly...

"Oh wait!" Blue shouted suddenly. He clapped his paws together and turned around, leaving Xatu feeling quite foolish with his beak wide open. "Hold on Xatu, I just remembered something!" Xatu clacked his beak shut and goggled at Blue's back. He appeared to be rustling with something behind him, but Xatu couldn't quite make it out in the dim light.

The sound of cloth being fumbled with, along with an unusual noise of metal clinking made Xatu incredibly confused. After a moment, Blue turned around and flashed Xatu a smile. He presented proudly a large, heavy sack in his arms. Bewildered, Xatu stared at the sack, wondering what was inside.

"I almost forgot!" Blue said in a chipper voice as he hurriedly dropped the sack on the floor, causing a loud, resounding clinking noise to explode from within, "Machoke and his guildmates told me that capturing Drowzee was worth quite a few Poké. Apparently he was a pretty notorious criminal in other towns too, so they gave me this as a reward for defeating him."

The Riolu eagerly pulled the sack open, revealing its contents. Xatu's eyes practically bugged out at the sight of hundreds of gleaming, golden coins inside. He reached into the bag with his wing and picked out a single coin. The small, rounded piece of metal glowed with a dull shine as he held it up in the moonlight. One side was emblazoned with a stylized P, while the other displayed the numerical worth of the coin.

"B – Blue... what is this?" Xatu stuttered, completely flabbergasted. He had never seen such a huge amount of money in one place before. At most, he had only been able to save up a handful of gold before he spent it all.

"It's Poké, isn't it?" Blue responded simply, his tone plain, "You should be able to recognize it, I mean, you were the one who told me about it."

"No, I mean – hold on a second!" Xatu covered his face with his wing and turned away from the Riolu's excited face. The conversation was fast moving into a direction that he couldn't understand! He took a deep breath to calm himself from the sudden swerve in topic and tried to compose himself as much as possible before returning to the conversation.

After a moment of silence, Xatu turned back to the Riolu. Blue was picking up the coins inside the sack and letting them drop back inside carelessly, making loud clinking sounds echo around inside his small tent.

"Alright, Blue..." Xatu began, leering warily at the sack of coins, "How... how about you tell me everything from the start first...? I don't think... I quite understand why you're showing me... all of this..."

"Well, I just remembered what you told me earlier today." Blue said plainly as he dropped another coin back into the sack.

"What I told you...?"

He nodded earnestly, "Remember? You told me that your charms were worth 900 Poké or something. I'm not too sure about how many Poké were in this bag that the guys at the guild gave me, so I just brought it all."

"Hold... wait, you mean..." Xatu was struck dumb by what he just heard. He stared at Blue, then at the sack of glittering coins, then back at Blue. The gears in his shrewd mind was grinding at maximum speed as he began to comprehend what the Riolu was saying.

"You brought all of this... just to buy one of my charms?"

Blue grinned and nodded energetically.

Xatu felt as though he was about to fall over from the sheer absurdity of the situation. The amount of money inside of the sack far outnumbered the worth of any charm he owned. In fact, it probably outnumbered the worth of everything he owned.

"This amount of Poké..."

One thought ran through Xatu's mind. With this much Poké in his possession, he could easily pay off every single debt he's accrued throughout his entire life. With this much Poké in his possession, he could easily escape from the clutches of the Persian and Meowth that has haunted him for so long. With this much Poké...

But, could he really accept such a thing with a clear conscience? He looked up at Blue, who was watching him interestingly, waiting eagerly for a response. For all the lies and mistreatment he's given to that Riolu, was he worthy of such a gift?

With a deep sigh, Xatu shook his head. No, he couldn't. Such an easy path doesn't exist for someone like him. And even if it did, what would he gain from taking such a path? He had already spent his entire life always trying to walk the easy road, and all that's gotten him was nothing but trouble and suffering. If he accepted this gift from Blue, then wouldn't he just be making the same mistakes once more?

"Blue... I can't accept this," Xatu said, pushing the sack of coins back to a bewildered Blue.

"Eh? But why? Is the amount wrong?"

Xatu shook his head again, "No, the amount is... well, I'd say the amount is too right." He gently shut the opening of the sack, hiding the gleaming coins away from the moonlight. "But I still cannot accept your generous gift."

"I don't understand," Blue folded his arms and huffed, "is it the wrong coins then? Are there different types? I just don't understand this money thing."

Xatu chuckled. Truly, this Riolu sure is an odd Pokémon. Xatu had never met a more honest Pokémon than Blue. It was a refreshing experience for him. For most of his life, he had been mired in the dark, grungy world of lies and trickery. To him, Blue was like a stray ray of sunlight in his world of dishonesty.

Xatu stood up and turned his back to Blue. He walked over to the other side of his tent and stood in front of a large, wooden chest lying on the floor.

"Blue, I truly appreciate what you're offering," Xatu said as he opened up the chest, "however, I cannot just accept your money in good conscience."

Inside the chest was every single charm and talisman Xatu had owned. From ribbons to necklaces, bracelets to collars, everything he owned was stored safely inside this container. Xatu reached inside and withdrew a single object from within.

"However, I will offer you a proposition." Xatu said with a smile as he turned around. He held the object in his wing up to the moonlight. It was a small, yellow seashell suspended in the air by a thin string. The bright red jewel embedded in the shell glinted dimly as the necklace spun around leisurely.

"This is what you wanted, right?" He said as he handed Blue the Necklace of Memory. "I'll give you this charm for free. But, you have to listen to what I have to say, is that fine with you?"

Blue took the necklace from Xatu's wing and examined it. Then, he shook his head.

"You don't want it?" Xatu said, confused.

"This isn't what I wanted," Blue replied as he handed the necklace back, "I was going to ask you for the other thing you showed me. That pink colored ribbon."

"The... Aura Bow?"

Xatu took the necklace and replaced it with the pink ribbon inside the chest. He held it in front of Blue for confirmation.

Blue nodded quickly and beamed, "Yeah, that's the one."

"I'm surprised, Blue," Xatu remarked as he handed the ribbon over to the Riolu, "I had assumed that you were more interested in the Necklace of Memory."

"I was," Blue admitted as he examined the ribbon, "but, I decided that I'd rather have this instead."

"Would you mind telling me the reason?"

Blue grinned as he tried to tie the ribbon into a bow, "It's for a friend. You said that this ribbon helps someone get stronger, right?"

Xatu nodded hesitantly, "Yes... I believe so."

"My friend's worried about being weak and afraid, so I thought maybe this charm of yours could help her get a little bit braver, you know?"

"That's... very generous of you, Blue."

"You think?" Blue tilted his head to the side quizzically. He accidentally undid the messy bow tie in his paws, making him grumble in frustration.

"Well then, will you accept my proposition then?" Xatu reminded him. Blue looked up from his paws and nodded.

"Very well," Xatu closed his eyes and quietly thought about what he was going to say. This Riolu had forced him to reevaluate the way he was living his life. It only seemed fair that he cleared things up with him.

"Blue, I haven't been completely forthright with information with you." He began, "Since we met, I've been lying to you. Trying to fool you into listening to me and believing in me."

"I do not possess the power of sight," Xatu turned away from Blue, avoiding his eyes, "Since my birth, I lacked such abilities that my ancestors had. My powers of sight... are probably just as powerful as yours, Blue."

"Eh?" Blue sounded surprised, "What do you mean by that?"

"I apologize, that was probably a little confusing," Xatu lowered his head and sighed, "My claims of being able to see all... to be able to view everything that goes on within town, or to predict the future... it's nothing more than a self – serving lie."

Xatu shook his head, "You were right back when you called me a liar at the plaza. Back then, when you asked me to use my sight to find your friend, I truly could not have helped you. But, I couldn't have let you known that then. So, I lied."

"But, I don't understand," Blue interrupted, "why did you feel the need to lie to me?"

Xatu chuckled humorlessly, "I have an awful reason." Xatu turned around and gave Blue a pathetic look, "I needed you to uphold our deal."

"You mean, you needed me to fight in that battle royale thing?"

Xatu nodded, smiling uncomfortably as he did so, "I needed you to keep fighting. I needed you to win."

"Why, you may ask?" Xatu intercepted Blue's question, "Because I was a fool, Blue. I had a foolish idea to use your strength for my own gain. I... I went to a dangerous group of Pokémon and placed a dangerous gamble on your victory."

"A gamble on me? I don't understand..."

"Perhaps it's better you don't," Xatu shook his head dejectedly, "either way, I was selfishly abusing your trust for my own gain. And in the end, I betrayed your trust when you needed me the most. All because I was afraid to let you know the truth." He guiltily tapped the side of his head, "The truth that I was just a foolish bird that wanted to use you for my own selfish needs."

"No." Blue stated in a plain voice, "You're lying again."

"What?" Xatu slowly lowered his wing, "What do you mean?"

Blue folded his arms in front of his chest and sighed, "You didn't betray me at all, Xatu."

Xatu cocked his head to the side, wondering what he meant. Blue responded by sighing again and frowning discontentedly.

"You took Fée to Mount Bristle. You protected me from Drowzee's attack. You helped me beat up that creep with that thing you did with the stones." Blue said, smirking, "You didn't betray me at all."

"But I went and lied to you about everything!" Xatu insisted, waving his wings around wildly, "I … I was using you! I tried to belittle you in public when you argued with me!"

"So? It's not like any of that stuff really mattered in the end, did it?"

Xatu gaped at the Riolu, astonished by just how little he cared about his betrayal.

"Even if you can't see or anything doesn't matter," Blue added, "all I remember is that you came to my aid when I was in trouble. That's what really counts, don't you think?"

"You... you don't care that I abused you like that? That I bent your trust for my own purposes?"

Blue shrugged and tapped the side of his head, mimicking the bird's actions, "Like I said, all I saw was you helping me fight against that Drowzee. Whether or not you went and gambled on me fighting, I don't know, nor do I really care."

"Besides, you must've had a lot of faith in me if you really believed that I could beat everyone at that battle royale thing!"

Xatu could only watch, stupefied as the Riolu chuckled in a carefree way in front of him. Why was this Riolu so willing to forgive him for all he's done? Xatu just could not understand.

"Blue... you're willing to forgive me for what I've done...?"

The Riolu interrupted his laughter with an exasperated sigh. Annoyed, Blue pushed himself off the ground and stretched his arms and legs. Afterward, he held out his right paw to Xatu.

"I forgive you Xatu," Blue beamed as he offered his paw, "so forget about all that complicated stuff already!"

"You're the oddest Pokémon I've ever met, Blue," Xatu shook his head as he stood up. He looked down at his wing. A few feathers were still missing from when they were forcibly pulled apart earlier. Back then, he had considered it a symbol of his betrayal. But now, he considered it a reminder. A reminder to never lie again.

"But," Xatu smiled as he covered Blue's paw with his wing, "that's not such a bad thing."

"Thanks, Xatu," Blue said as he shook the bird's wing.

"No, I should be thanking you," Xatu replied, "you've helped me learn an important lesson today, Blue."

"Oh, what's that?"

Xatu released his grip on Blue's paw. With a dramatic swoosh, he extended out both of his wings beside him, forming his favorite pose.

"The importance of honesty."

* * *

After a while, the Riolu left with a small, colorful box in his arms, which contained the precious Aura Bow inside. Xatu watched from behind the tent flaps as Blue ran off toward the guilds district. He has spoken something about finding his friend before the night ended. Xatu assumed that he was speaking about the female Eevee from earlier. Fée, was it?

When Blue finally disappeared from his sight, Xatu sighed and retreated into his tent. Starting tomorrow, he was going to begin his life anew. He'll live a more honest life, without lies or deceit. Although he wasn't sure about what he was going to do, he was confident that he could figure something out. After all, if that Riolu could succeed in something as difficult as a battle against a criminal, then he should be able to find something he could do as well.

Feeling strangely elated for tomorrow, Xatu walked to the center of the tent with a gleeful bounce in his step. Suddenly, his foot hit something hard on the floor. Groaning a little, he glanced down.

"W... what?"

He was greeted with the sight of a sack filled to the brim with gleaming coins. He sighed. That Riolu must've forgotten to take it with him when he left. Xatu reached over to the sack and tried to move it out of the way so he could have a place to sleep. When he meets Blue again, he'll remind him to take it away. But, as he pushed the sack, he noticed something strange attached to the side of the sack. It wasn't visible before, as Blue had always kept that side of the sack facing him.

Curious, Xatu leaned down and tried to make out what it was in the dim light. It was a small, white badge with the number "27" printed on the surface. Below the badge was a series of messily written words, a message left for him, perhaps? With great difficulty, Xatu read out the message.

"This is a gift from Blue to Xatu!"

Xatu stared blankly at the childish message for a moment. He rubbed his eyes, wondering if he had imagined it. But no, it was there, shining in the moonlight. The Riolu told him before that he couldn't read, so did Blue ask one of the guild members to write it out for him? He sighed as he pushed the bag over to the side of the tent, leaving it next to the big wooden chest where he stored his valuables.

"What an odd Pokémon."

Xatu smiled as he lied down on the carpet. What an odd Pokémon indeed.


	15. It's mine! It's mine! It's mine!

**• ****  
Chapter 14:**

**"****It's mine! ****It's mine! ****It's mine!**"

I took a deep breath, to calm my nerves. My fatigue from last night slowly melted away as I inhaled the fresh, crisp morning air. With warmth slowly rising inside my body, I took a single step forward, stopping right in front of the wooden grille embedded in the ground. From behind me, I heard a loud, tired yawn.

I turned around. Blue was stretching his arms and legs drowsily. I watched him sluggishly trudge his way over to me, rubbing his unfocused eyes and continually yawning. I shook my head as I tried to hold back a giggle. He really was horrible at waking up early in the morning.

Looking away from Blue, I returned my gaze to the wooden grille situated in the ground. This was it, this was the day. Gulping nervously, I walked onto the grille and stood still, waiting for the usual voice to announce my arrival.

"Pokémon detected!" I flinched as the usual loud voice exploded from underneath the grille, "Pokémon detected!"

I heard a startled yelp from behind me. Glancing back, I saw Blue had drawn his fists up in a defensive stance as he scanned around him with a cautious expression on his face, all traces of somnolence gone.

"Whose footprint?" Another voice replaced the first one. I tilted my head to the side. This voice sounded familiar, somehow...

"It's an Eevee's! A female Eevee's!"

"You serious? Took them long enough!" An odd response came from underground. I turned back and glanced questioningly at Blue. He shrugged and mirrored my own confused expression. We both stared expectantly at the huge, garishly pink tent in front of us.

"Oi! They're here! Come on, let's go greet'em!"

Suddenly, the earth began to shake, followed by a series of loud clunking noises. Blue hurriedly rushed up and pulled me off the grille and back onto solid dirt. The strange mechanical noises began to get louder and louder, scaring several Pidgey and Taillow out from wherever they were sleeping. They squawked angrily as they flew away from the tent, annoyed by the noise.

"Blue, look!" I pointed at the huge, wooden gate that was placed underneath the pink tent. It began to emit a low groaning noise as it began to shudder and shake. Then, it slowly began to move upward into the top of the tent.

"It's like the teeth of some great big monster," Blue remarked humorously as we watched the gate slowly vanish into the pink canvas. "maybe we're being invited to be its lunch!"

"Stop it Blue!" I whispered hastily. The sight of the huge wooden gate sliding up on its own like that was scary enough! "You're making it scarier than it already is!"

Blue grinned and squeezed his paws around my cheeks, pretending that his paws were the monster's teeth. I shook my head exasperatedly and shoved him off. He chuckled and patted my head. I gave him a little frown in response. Though, I did feel a little relieved. His joke made the terrifying gate feel a little less scary now.

After a few more seconds of groaning and clanking, the wooden gate finally disappeared completely into the tent's canvas. Blue and I slowly inched our way over to the now – open tent, peering cautiously inside.

"Hello...?" I nervously greeted to whoever that might be inside, "Is anyone there?"

Silence. I looked nervously at Blue for help. He took a step forward and shouted, "Hey, anyone in there?"

More silence. Blue glanced back at me and shrugged in a defeated manner.

"Maybe we're supposed to just go inside?" Blue suggested, pointing a paw at the entrance, "I don't see anyone in there from where I'm standing."

"I... I suppose," I took a deep gulp and walked past Blue, following his paw. True to his word, the interior of the tent did look empty. In fact, now that I had a better look inside, the tent looked oddly small. All I could see inside was the backside of the canvas along with several wooden posts that held up the tent. The floor was completely covered up with an almost obscene amount of multicolored rugs and carpets, all of which were of different sizes and color. Other than that though, there was nothing else visible inside the tent. No other rooms, no Pokémon, nothing. Just carpets and posts.

I tilted my head in confusion at this fact. How can such a large guild like Wigglytuff's have such a tiny headquarters? I've always imagined them to have a much larger base, fitting for a guild so well known across the frontier. It just didn't make sense.

But, as I was pondering this discrepancy, a sudden gust of wind came billowing out from inside the tent. Startled, I quickly covered up my face with my paws and shut my eyes. I felt my fur being ruffled wildly by the sudden breeze. It wasn't a strong gust, but it was surprising nonetheless!

"Fée!" All of a sudden, I found myself being picked up by something that felt like leaves. I opened my eyes and saw, right in front of my face, a gigantic yellow flower.

"Eek!" Startled, I accidentally kicked out with my back legs and knocked the flower away from me. I fell back onto the dirt, hitting the ground hard with my behind. "Ouch!"

"Ooooh! That was a strong kick, ouch!" The flower grumbled in a pained voice as she slowly pulled herself off the ground. As she stood back up, I suddenly recognized her.

"Aah! Sunflora!" My eyes widened in surprise as I pointed a paw at her, "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean, silly?" Sunflora beamed at me, evidently pleased that I recognized her, "I work here! Didn't I tell you yesterday?"

"You...work here?" I glanced over to the pink tent, then back at Sunflora. My face was that of bewilderment as I tried to puzzle out what she said.

"Oh my gosh, you're so adorable when you're confused like that!" Sunflora squealed gleefully as she rushed over and pulled me into a great, leafy hug again, "I'm so happy that we met again, Fée!"

"Geeh!" I coughed as she rubbed her big, flowery head against my cheek, scattering pollen everywhere. I struggled to get out of her hug, but, for a Pokémon that had leaves for arms, she had a surprisingly strong grip!

I turned my head over to Blue, desperately trying to signal for his help. But, instead of rushing over to my aid, I saw him standing at the side, trying to cover his laughing face with his paw as he watched me struggle with the friendly flower. Thanks for nothing, Blue!

"Alright, alright," Suddenly, two beefy, blue – scaled arms wedged their way between me and Sunflora, separating us with a single shove. My freedom now secured, I quickly ran behind Blue and peered cautiously at the huggy Sunflora, who was looking incredibly dejected at being pulled away from me.

I glanced up at my savior. It was Loudred, the other Pokémon I met yesterday along with Sunflora. He gave me a huge grin, courtesy of his gigantic mouth, and planted himself between me and Sunflora.

"So you're finally here, eh, Fée?" He said cheerfully, folding his arms, "I see you've brought your little friend too."

"Morning," Blue replied casually, holding up his paw as a greeting.

"Good morning, Loudred," I greeted him from behind Blue's legs. Still keeping a wary eye on Sunflora, who still looked like she wanted to give hugs, I moved away from Blue and sat down.

"Um... Loudred?" I spoke nervously, "Can you explain something for me?"

"Shoot."

I tilted my head, confused, "Sunflora said she worked here, and I'm assuming you do too." The two of them nodded. "So... does that mean you're both explorers associated with Wigglytuff's Guild?"

"Bingo!" Sunflora beamed at me as she clapped her leaves together, "You're completely right! Oh my gosh!"

"Well, we did tell her yesterday, didn't we?" Loudred stated plainly, not sharing his partner's enthusiasm at all, "I mean, we even did the whole Guild's Honor thing in front of you and Marill."

"Oh...!" Suddenly, memories of yesterday's events came flooding back to me. I remember when Sunflora and Loudred ran up to me and Marill during the hectic search for Azurill. They did say something about being apart of a guild. But, the situation was so frantic at the time that I didn't completely register what they said.

"See, you remember now, right?" Sunflora sprung upright and held her leafy arm in front of her chest and suddenly recited in a serious voice, "' I promise you! On our honor as members of Wigglytuff's Guild, that she'll be back home safe and sound!' Or something like that! Oooh, I've always wanted to say that!"

Loudred shrugged, "Even though we weren't the ones who saved that girl in the end anywa – gah!" He flinched as Sunflora smacked him on the arm with her leaf. He winced as he rubbed his arm gingerly.

"Speaking of that!" Sunflora cheerfully said, ignoring her partner's angry glare, "What happened in the end anyway? When we finished pasting up all those posters, we were suddenly told that the evil outlaw was captured! Ooh, it was so exciting! But frustrating too! Because then we had to take those posters down and..."

"I'm assuming you found her in the end, eh Riolu?" Loudred shoved Sunflora aside as she began to run off on a tangent, "I can tell by the way you're all banged up... well, more banged up than usual."

"Something like that," Blue brushed away his words with a wave of his paw, "I just punched the guy a bit. That's all."

"Hahaha!" Loudred boomed, laughing loudly as he slapped Blue on the shoulder, making him wince in pain, "You don't have to be modest! We all know what went down on Mount Bristle, Riolu!"

"Eh?"

Loudred winked at us and said with a jovial tone, "That Staraptor from Machoke's Guild came around and announced to everyone what you did last night, Riolu! Isn't that right, Sunflora?"

"Ooh, that's right," Sunflora agreed, nodding her flowery head, "But I wanted to hear it from their mouths, Loudred!" She eagerly turned back to us, wringing her leafy arms together expectantly. I glanced over to Blue, who looked as though he wanted to just run away. I guess he didn't really want to talk about it.

"Um...!" I quickly interjected to help Blue, "I... we kinda want to register as apprentices at Wigglytuff's Guild. Do you two mind showing us how?"

"Ooh!" Sunflora suddenly turned toward Loudred and clapped her leaves together, "That's right! I totally forgot!"

"Oh, right," Loudred smacked his head with his hand, "you're finally going to apply as an apprentice Fée. Congratulations!"

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"We've all been watching you for a while, Fée," Loudred said, grinning with Sunflora, "you've been coming to the guild for a while haven't you?"

"Every day," Sunflora added gleefully, "we've been waiting for you to finally pluck up the courage and walk up to us and ask for apprenticeship! Ooh, I was rooting for you the whole time, Fée!"

"You mean.. you've all been watching me?!"

A look of horror appeared on my face as Loudred and Sunflora nodded cheerfully. I felt my face burn bright red as a gigantic tidal wave of embarrassment crashed down upon me. A strange noise escaped my throat as I hurriedly ducked behind Blue and stuffed my searing hot face into his tail. I've never felt so embarrassed in my entire life! This is the worst!

"Ooh, she's embarrassed now!" I heard Sunflora say gleefully, "She's so adorable!"

"I don't think we should've told her that we were watching!" Loudred replied, laughing uproariously

I groaned out of anguish as I clung tightly to Blue's tail. I felt him pat me sympathetically on my head, making me feel even more abashed. I shoved my face even deeper into his fluffy tail in response. If I exposed my blushing face to the air now, I felt as though I might go up in flames!

* * *

"We're sorry, we're sorry!" Sunflora and Loudred both clasped their hands together and bowed down in front of me. It was an odd sight, seeing two accomplished explorers beg for forgiveness.

"Hmph!" I turned my head away from the grovelling pair. A slight tinge of red was still present on my face, even after a few minutes had passed. Blue just grinned silently at me as I continued to stick close to his hooked tail.

"You can repay her by showing us into the guild," Blue suggested, pointing at the pink tent. He rubbed his chin with his paw, "I've been wondering. Where'd you two come out from anyway? All I can see in there are rugs and junk."

"Oh!" Sunflora pulled her head off the ground, trailing a little bit of dirt from her petals. She enthusiastically leapt up and walked over to the tent's entrance and pointed inside with her leaf.

"This isn't the actual guild house, oh no." Sunflora explained, "If it was, then we'd have no space to work or sleep!"

She ducked past the tent flaps and held up one of the carpets. Curious, Blue and I inched closer to the tent and watched the flowery Pokémon fiddle around with something underneath the rugs. With a shout of exertion, Sunflora suddenly threw up her arms. Immediately, a gust of wind burst out from inside the tent again, making Blue and I cover our eyes out of shock.

"You'll want to keep your eyes open for what happens next." Loudred commented from somewhere beside us. Deciding to take the chance, I gingerly opened my eyes against the gusting wind.

It was an amazing sight. All the carpets and rugs were flying around the inside of the tent, circling around Sunflora like a strange, clothy tornado. Then, one by one, the carpets stacked themselves up in neat stacks around the sides of the tent. But, what really amazed me was what was underneath all those carpets.

"Is that... a tree?" Well, it wasn't exactly a tree. At the center of the tent was the top of a gigantic tree trunk. The wooden surface pretty much made up the entire floor of the tent. Hundreds, maybe thousands of tree rings were present on the trunk, showing just how old the tree probably was before it was chopped down.

"Mmhm!" Sunflora nodded gleefully as she saw our stupefied faces, "That's not the end of it though! Just watch!"

Sunflora stood at the center of the tree stump, where all the rings originated from. Then, with a loud shout, she stomped the tree trunk with her foot. Suddenly, a loud reverberating noise echoed from within the trunk, followed by multiple repeated _clunk_ing noises. Blue and I glanced at each other, confused and wondering what was happening as the noises became louder and louder.

Then, the loudest _clunk_ sound rang out and the ground began to shudder. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it. Parts of the massive tree trunk began to sink down in blocks. Piece by piece, they slid down like parts of a puzzle. Sunflora grinned as she quickly stepped off the tree trunk and trotted over to us.

"It's... it's a staircase!" Blue whispered in a stunned voice.

He was right. Every block that fell down on the tree trunk stopped after sliding a short distance, where it then locked into place by some strange mechanism. After a while, the noise stopped and the ground stopped shaking. Cautiously, Blue and I walked into the tent and stared down at the newly – formed staircase.

"Wow..." It was incredible. Large pieces of the tree trunk had sunk down, forming a magnificent spiral staircase that lead down into the ground. It was surprisingly wide as well. It had just enough space for two or more Pokémon to pass through, side by side. Nervously, I stepped down one of the wooden blocks. To my great relief, it felt incredibly sturdy and solid.

"Heh, impressed?" Loudred said as he casually strode down the stairs past Blue and I, "I don't know who made this contraption, but it sure is convenient!"

"That's right, ooh!" Sunflora patted me on the back as she followed Loudred down, "Hurry up down, Fée! Blue! I wanna show you around our headquarters! It'll be so much fun! Eek!"

I glanced up at Blue, who was also testing the steps out for himself. Once he was sure that the blocks weren't going to suddenly give out from underneath him, he grinned and began to slowly make his way down. Noticing that he was still moving a little slow from his injured leg, I hurriedly wedged myself underneath his right arm.

"I'll help you down, Blue," I offered as I allowed him to lean against me.

"Thanks, Fée," He grinned at me as we slowly made our way down the stairs.

* * *

"Welcome to Wigglytuff's Guild!"

Sunflora and Loudred cheered enthusiastically as we moved off the last step. I glanced behind us, back at the staircase. It was still housed within the huge tree trunk, but now, as we've gone deeper into the ground, I could see it in full.

The staircase was built within a massive, massive tree. Parts of the tree trunk had been carved out to allow for entrances or windows, but it was still mostly intact. The staircase lead down into a large, hollow cavern made mostly out of stone and packed dirt. The cavern was surrounded by vines and huge, thick roots coming from the ceiling. As I looked up, I saw the bottom of the massive tree. Its roots spread out across the ceiling of the cavern and all around the walls like a great, wooden protector.

Sunflora walked over to where we were and gently knocked on the bottom step of the staircase. Immediately, the loud clanking noise started up again. Blue and I watched, mesmerized, as the staircase began to slowly recede itself back into the ceiling. Tons of moving bits and pieces worked hard to pull the multiple wooden blocks back into the tree. I couldn't understand the mechanics behind such a wondrous device, but it amazed me nonetheless.

After the staircase was completely reabsorbed into the ceiling, Sunflora walked up to Blue and I and gestured around us with a big smile on her face.

"So? What do you think?" She said anxiously, "Isn't it roomy?"

Roomy wasn't the word I would've used to describe it. The entire place was huge! Even though we were standing inside a deep cavern, large holes have been dug out in the walls, allowing for sunlight to stream into the place. Tons of doors, stairs and archways were carved into the walls, leading to what I assume deeper into the cavern.

I slowly paced around the room, taking in the atmosphere. Comfy chairs, soft cushions and wooden tables were strewn all around the place, giving the cavern a homely feel. It actually kinda resembled a clubhouse more than an actual guildhouse! The floor of the cavern was oddly soft. I took a look down at my feet and realized that the ground was completely covered in soft, leafy grass, with patches of flowers scattered around every few feet. It was absolutely gorgeous!

Then, as I looked up from the ground, I heard a quiet rumbling noise. I turned my head to the direction of the noise and found a small waterfall spilling out from the ceiling. At the foot of the waterfall was a small pool of crystal clear water.

"Wow...!" I ran over to the small pond and peered over the side, staring at my reflection. But, as I continued to look down in the water, something fast and red came zooming up from the depths, shattering my reflected face into pieces with ripples.

"Eek!" I fell backwards out of surprise as that mysterious red thing came flying out of the water, scattering water droplets everywhere. I shook the water off my face and quickly turned around. The Pokémon made a clacking noise with its huge, pincer like hands as it addressed me.

"Hey, hey, hey! Who're you?" The Pokémon said in a suspicious tone. It pointed one of its sharp, crab – like pincer at me and stated, "Are you an intruder? If you are, you'll have to face the might of Crawdaunt!"

"E – eh?!" My eyes widened out of fear as I quickly held up my paws, trying to mollify the crabby Pokémon, "N – no, I'm no intruder!"

"Hmmm?!" The red Pokémon narrowed its eyes and scuttled closer to me on its six, thin legs. It eyed me skeptically and opened his right pincer in front of my face, "I've never seen you around here before, Eevee! I can't trust what you say!"

"Mmmhh!" I tried to say something in response, but the sight of his sharp pincer right in front me, water dripping ominously off its sharp points made me lose my ability to talk.

"Bwahaha! The mighty Crawdaunt terrifies yet another intrud – gyeegh!"

Suddenly, the red Pokémon was lifted into the air by a blue paw on his back. I gaped as the mighty Crawdaunt flailed around, moving its six little legs in a desperate attempt to move.

"Let go of me!" He shouted indignantly, "I'm the mighty Crawdaunt! You can't treat me this way! Hey, hey!"

"Fée, are you alright?" Blue ignored the furious Pokémon in his grasp and extended me his other paw. I took it and let him pull me back onto my feet. I stared warily at the angry Crawdaunt as he tried to reach down and pinch Blue's arm, but he couldn't quite reach him with his short pincers.

"Thanks Blue..." I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Sunflora and Loudred came running over. Loudred hurriedly snatched the red Pokémon out of Blue's paws and held him upside down by one of his tiny legs.

"Corphish, what did I tell you about scaring visitors!" Sunflora chided him angrily. She prodded Crawdau – Corphish in the face with her leaf and glared at him.

"Sunflora, Loudred!" Corphish said in a friendlier tone. A complete shift from his earlier self, "How're you two doing?"

"Ooh! Don't just change the subject!" Sunflora scolded angrily, but Corphish had already freed himself from Loudred's grasp and flipped himself onto the grassy floor. He held up his two large pincers and pointed them at Blue and I.

"You two, we got intruders, hey, hey!" He said in an enthusiastic voice. Evidently, he completely disregarded Sunflora's words from before. Blue growled threateningly as Corphish clacked his pincers at us, "Come on, we gotta shoo them out before the Grandmaster of all things Naggy sees them!"

"You numbskull," Loudred covered his face with his hand and shook his head, "we _WANT_ them to meet the Grandmaster."

Blue and I covered our ears as Loudred blasted a sudden sonic boom at us with his voice. Corphish, however looked completely unaffected by Loudred's voice.

He turned around and said, in a flabbergasted voice, "What?! You mean to tell me these two are...?" Corphish seemed to be trying to figure out something in his mind. He slowly turned back and stared as us with narrowed eyes. After silently staring at us for nearly a minute, his eyes widened and he clacked his pincers together wildly.

"Hey, hey! You didn't tell me we were having new recruits today!" He jumped up and clacked his pincers loudly.

Loudred sighed exasperatedly, "You didn't let us tell you anything before you went and called them intruders," He bonked Corphish over the head with his fist.

"Gyeh!" Corphish cried out in pain and covered his head with his pincers. Sunflora sighed and walked over to me.

"Sorry about that, Fée," She apologized, "Corphish gets a little excited when he sees new faces."

"Hey, hey!" Corphish spun around and clacked his pincers indignantly at Sunflora, "My name ain't Corphish! It's the mighty Crawdaunt!"

"Sure, and my name is the supreme Exploud," Loudred said, rolling his eyes.

"Crawdaunt?" I echoed, looking a little confused, "Is that another Pokémon?"

"It's his evolved form," Sunflora explained, looking a little amused, "Corphish has been looking forward to evolution for a long time. He's been rather taken to calling himself Crawdaunt in anticipation for his eventual evolution."

"I see. Evolution, huh? That's pretty cool!"

"Hey, hey! Someone understands!" He said cheerfully, "You and me, we're gonna be great friends, I can tell!"

Loudred snorted, "Says the Pokémon that nearly snipped her nose off earlier."

"Hey, no hard feelings, eh?" Corphish winked at me, "We're cool now, right? Now that I know that you and your grabby friend ain't intruders, right?"

"Grabby?" Blue said as he folded his arms.

"It's okay, I forgive you," I smiled and looked at Blue. He looked a little uncertain, but I gave him a reassuring nod. He sighed and held out his paw to Corphish.

"Y'know, now that I have a closer look..." Corphish narrowed his eyes as he placed his heavy pincer on Blue's paw, shaking it, "You're a Riolu, ain't ya?"

Blue gave me a quick look before responding, "I suppose. I've been called that by a lot of Pokémon, so, probably."

"Hey, hey, why do you sound so unsure?" Corphish chuckled at Blue's ambiguous answer, "I've heard a lot about Riolu!"

"From Loudred?" Sunflora piped up suspiciouslly, shooting Loudred a wary look.

"Yep, from Loudred!" Corphish replied cheerfully, "He told me that Riolu were total freaks who prefer to stay within their dark caves and be boring old loners! You don't look anything like that though, hey, hey!"

My ears perked up at what he said. I've never seen a Riolu before I met Blue. Not to mention, none of the books I've read in Mr. Mime's library ever talked about Riolu, so I don't know much about what other Riolu were like, other than Blue.

Corphish's words – and by extension, Loudred's – made me frown a bit. I remembered Loudred saying something similar back at the restaurant, and it was confusing then as well. I looked over at Blue, wondering how he felt about his species being called such rude words. To my surprise, he didn't look insulted at all. In fact, there was a strangely curious glint in his eye as he listened to Corphish.

"Is that so?" Blue replied eagerly, "What else did he say?"

"Well!" Corphish looked thrilled to be asked questions, "He also told me that Riolu were all violent weirdos. Total fighting maniacs, he said. Ain't that right, Loudred?"

"Guuuhh!" Loudred couldn't respond. He was too busy being dragged away by the ear by a furious Sunflora.

"You and I are gonna have a big talk about spreading nasty rumors, Loudred!" She scolded angrily, "Corphish, you go and introduce those two to the Guildmaster. I'm gonna be busy for a while!"

With her final order still lingering in the air, she forcefully dragged Loudred off into one of the doorways and disappeared from sight. Corphish broke out in wild laughter.

"Hoo boy, those two will never get along, will they?" He asked us. Blue and I just looked at each other and shrugged. Corphish wiped a tear from his eye and said, "Well alright then! If we're gonna be apprentices together, we'd better get you all signed up with the guild!"

"You're an apprentice too?" I said in a surprised tone. Corphish nodded as we followed him across the grassy cavern.

"That's right, and so's Sunflora and Loudred!" He said with a certain pride in his tone.

"Oh right," I nodded in agreement, "they said something about that to me before."

"Lotsa Pokémon mistake those two to be real explorers," Corphish added, "I don't blame'em. Those two are the best of the best here in Wigglytuff's. Ain't nobody better at exploring than those two. Well, maybe except the Guildmaster, hey, hey!"

"So why are they still apprentices?" I interjected with a question, "If they're so good at what they do, shouldn't they be full fledged explorers now?"

"Hey, hey, I dunno!" Corphish replied, "They have their own reasons, I suppose. Ain't my business to poke a pincer into theirs!"

Corphish halted in front of a large, double door embedded in the wall. I looked up at the massive door. It was made out of a dark, rich – colored wood. The words "Guildmaster's Office" was expertly carved on the surface of the left door, while the words "Wigglytuff & Chatot" were embossed on the right.

"Here we are! The Guildmaster's office!" Corphish cheerfully stated, pointing his pincer at the magnificent doors. "Just head on in, don't be shy!"

Hesitation and nervousness flooded my body as I stared at the great wooden gate in front of me. Somehow, this door made me feel more anxious than facing off against Koffing and Zubat. The weight of the bag around my neck seemed like it was getting heavier and heavier as I stood there, staring at the door. I gulped and tried to move my paw up to knock on the wood, but my leg wouldn't move. It was like my feet had turned into stone all of a sudden.

"Hey, hey! You alright?"

Corphish's words barely reached my ears. My heart was pounding while thousands of negative thoughts raced through my mind. Run, run away! This is too scary! I'm afraid! I shook my head, trying to get rid of these terrified thoughts. I didn't come all this way just to give up now!

Suddenly, I felt a paw on my head. I looked up and saw Blue smiling at me. He comfortingly rubbed the top of my head, as if he was trying to calm down a child. As his paw touched the ribbon tied onto my right ear, I felt a strange warmth flood through my body, washing away all the fear and anxiety that was building up inside my heart. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, summoning up all my willpower.

"Alright," I said in a confident voice, "I'm ready."

Slowly, I reached up with my paw. I placed it against the solid, wood door and knocked three times, announcing my presence. At first, nobody responded, making me tilt my head in confusion. But then, about a second later, a rumbling noise erupted from behind the door.

"Oop!" Corphish yelped as he quickly scuttled away from the entrance. The reason why became crystal clear as the door began to slowly open out on its own. Blue and I stepped back, allowing the door to fully open up ahead of us.

_Boom!_ The two heavy wooden doors struck the cavern walls forcefully, making dust rain down from the ceiling. From beyond the entrance, all I could see was darkness. For some reason, there appeared to be no windows or light inside the Guildmaster's office. I gulped as I took a step forward into the abyss, with Blue following behind me.

Once we were fully immersed in the darkness, the double doors suddenly closed behind us with a loud crashing noise, enclosing us inside the pitch – black room. I quickly turned around and placed my paws against the doors in a panic. Why did the doors close? Was this a trap? What was going on?"

"Calm down Fée," Blue said calmly as he continued to pat me on the head.

"How can you stay calm in a situation like this?" I retorted, a little hysterically.

"Well, we're not alone in here," Blue said plainly as he pointed forward with his other paw.

"Eh?!" I looked toward where his paw was pointing. It was difficult, considering the lack of light in the room. As my eyes slowly adjusted though, I could see something large and brightly colored in the distance. In fact, the thing appeared to be growing larger and larger by the second...

Suddenly, a pair of large blue circles loomed out of the darkness at us.

"Eeeek!" I leapt backward out of terror. All the strength and willpower that I summoned earlier seemed to vanish as I rushed behind Blue, hiding myself from the horrible sight.

"Yoooooooom..."

All of a sudden, an odd, drawn out noise began to echo around the room. It got louder and louder as it continued, forcing me to cover my ears with my paws. I felt Blue bend down a little as he tried to cover his ears from the noise as well.

"–TAH!"

An explosion of sound, light and force erupted from within the room, blasting away my senses and leaving me confused and dazed. I fell flat on my belly from dizziness, my eyes rolling around uncontrollably in my head. The room was spinning at a ridiculous speed, making me feel incredibly nauseous.

"Oogh..." I heard Blue groan from somewhere beside me. He must've felt the pain from the explosion as well.

"Welcome, new friends!" A loud, chipper voice rang out from somewhere around me. I staggered up to my feet, using Blue's tail as leverage.

The room was completely lit up now. Torches on the wall that were unlit earlier were now flickering with a bright, warm light. Darkly colored curtains were blown off their hangers, revealing a series of large windows on the other side of the room. Gleaming, glittering and other shiny objects were strewn around everywhere, reflecting light all around the office. With all these light sources scattered around, it was as if the darkness never existed in the first place!

I groaned as I tried to refocus my self. My eyes were still blurred, and a dull ringing sound kept buzzing inside my ear, making it hard for me to find my balance.

"What... who...?" Even my words were coming out unfocused and confused. I shook my head and slapped my cheeks with my paws. The stinging feeling on my face seemed to help, as the room began to slowly stop spinning around.

"Guildmaster, how many times do I have to tell you to use your powers in moderation?" An unfamiliar voice rang out from somewhere above me. It sounded grumpy, yet had a strangely melodic tone to it.

"Ooh, but they're new friends! I wanted them to be impressed!" Replied the first voice.

"They wont be impressed if they're vomiting all over the floor," said the second voice sarcastically, "and neither would I."

Slowly, I began to regain my senses. I pushed myself off Blue's body and tried to look at the speakers. I gasped. It was a large, pink colored Pokémon. His body resembled that of a particularly cheerful looking marshmellow. Two long, floppy ears extended out from the top of his head, surrounding the sides of a fluffy, curly tuft of hair. He stared at me with great interest with his blue, saucer shaped eyes.

"Hello friend! It's nice to see that you've recovered!" Guildmaster Wigglytuff said with a gleeful little wave of his small, nub – like hands. He waddled up to me and patted me down, dusting away the dirt found its way on my fur. Then, after he was satisfied with my cleanliness, he waddled over to Blue and started doing the same to him.

"Gu... Gu..." My voice wouldn't come out. I continued to stutter as I gaped at the cheerful pink Pokémon bounce around the bright room happily. "Gu... Gu..."

"Oh my, I think you might've broke her, Guildmaster," The second voice turned out to be a small, colorful bird Pokémon. He shook his black head in a disdainful manner at me and flew onto a small wooden post erected on the floor.

"Oh no!" Guildmaster Wigglytuff looked genuinely shocked at the bird's words, "Chatot, what do we do then? How do we fix them?"

"Buh...?" Blue looked like he was slowly regaining his use of his senses as well. He shook his head wildly and covered his face with his paws.

"Well, first of all, I'd suggest you stop shouting in their ears," the bird – Chatot – advised, "and secondly, how about you give them some time to rest from your little attack, hm?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Chatot!" Guildmaster Wigglytuff shouted, making Blue and I wince from the volume, "We'll let our new friends rest for a while! Then we can talk!"

Through the painful buzzing in my ears, I could just barely make out an exasperated sigh coming from Chatot.

* * *

"Are you two feeling better now?"

I rubbed my ears with my back leg, trying to see if they still worked. Thankfully, I could hear again without that painful droning noise in my head. I nodded at the little bird Pokémon standing in front of us, confirming that I was alright.

"How about you?" Chatot asked Blue, who still looked a little green in the face. Blue held up a paw and straightened his back as he took a deep breath. After shaking his head a little, he looked at Chatot and nodded as well.

"Very well then," Chatot nodded his head in response to us and fluttered back to his wooden post, where he stood and stared at us with narrowed eyes.

Nervously, I looked around the now – lit office. It was crammed to the breaking point with objects and knick – knacks of all kinds, and none of it were neatly put away at all. Instead of being an office, the room resembled a treasure hoard instead, with valuable – looking objects like trophies, coins or whatever thrown all over the place in a haphazard fashion.

A handsome desk was placed at the far end of the room, right in between all of the windows on the wall. Piles and piles of paper were strewn all over the desk as well as – for some strange reason – a great mound of shiny apples. As I was pondering about the apples, I saw Guildmaster Wigglytuff bound up to his desk and pick up one of the apples. Within seconds, the apple was within his mouth and gone forever.

"So, would you two like to explain why you're here?" Chatot's words snapped me out of my distracted staring. I quickly turned back and faced the bird, who was still eyeing us suspiciously, "If you're one of those door – to – door sales Pokémon, we don't want anything. The same goes if you're a trying to have us sign any surveys."

I quickly shook my head, "N – no, we're not sales Pokémon or surveyors, Mr. Chatot! That's not why we're here at all!"

"Then what are you here for? Beggars looking for a donation?" Chatot said distrustfully, "If that's the case, then off you go!"

I shook my head again and glanced over to Blue, who was glaring at the bird silently. Sighing, I held out my right paw to my chest and told Chatot honestly the reason why we're here.

"Blue and I... we're here to apply for apprenticeship," I said earnestly, "we want to be trained as an exploration team, Mr. Chatot."

"W – what?!" The bird cried out suddenly, startling me, "An exploration team? You two?!"

"Um... yes, if you would pl –"

"Why, that changes everything!" Chatot's expression made a complete switcheroo. The doubtful look on his face had changed to a big, almost alarmingly friendly smile, "You should've said so in the first place, little Eevee! Ha!"

"Um...?" I looked over to Blue for help again. It didn't matter though, since even he looked absolutely bewildered at Chatot's sudden change in demeanor.

"I'm quite surprised that you've made this decision at such a young age! And at our guild too, no less!" Chatot continued gleefully. He covered his face with his wing and muttered something under his breath. I strained my ears to try and make out what he was saying, "...and with so many potential recruits leaving due to the rigorousness of our training, this is quite a boon...!"

"Excuse me...?" I said, spooking Chatot's head out from under his wing, "Is the training really that hard?"

"Oh! Um!" Apparently, I wasn't supposed to hear that, as Chatot quickly flapped his wings around and hastily said, "No, no! Our training is as easy as it can be! Ha ha! Whatever could've given you that idea, Eevee?"

"Actually, my name is Fée," I said, bowing my head politely. I held up a paw next to Blue and introduce him, "and this is my friend, Blue."

"'Blue...?'" Chatot repeated doubtfully. He narrowed his eyes and stared at Blue, "Is that your name?"

"Mmhm," Blue replied, shrugging, "is there something wrong?"

"No! No, not at all!" Chatot quickly withdrew his suspicious gaze and coughed to clear his throat, "Well then! Fée! Blue! Allow me to introduce myself."

He extended his right wing and held it over his chest, "I am Chatot, assistant and second – in – command to the Guildmaster as well as an accomplished explorer of my own, if I do say so myself, ho ho!"

"G... good to meet you, Mr. Chatot." I was a little taken aback by just how pompous he was, but I decided not to let that show on my face. Blue just nodded respectfully at the bird, but kept silent.

"Now, how about you go and tell me why you decided to choose our guild for apprenticeship? This isn't a trick question or anything, it's just for my own personal curiosity!"

"Well, I've heard a lot of great things about Wigglytuff's Guild," I glanced over to the Guildmaster, who was still busying himself with the pile of apples on his desk, "and I thought that if I ever wanted to be an explorer, my best best would be to apprentice here, Mr. Chatot."

"Well said, Fée!" Chatot responded jovially, "I'm quite glad that you think so highly of us. I'm truly grateful to receive your respect."

"Thank you," I bowed my head again, feeling a little embarrassed at being praised by him.

Chatot turned his head over to Blue, "How about you then, Blue? I see that you're a Riolu, but let it be known that we don't discriminate by Pokémon here in Wigglytuff's Guild. Ho, ho!"

I saw Blue give a little smirk at Chatot's words. He must've been thinking about what Loudred and Corphish were saying earlier. Did Chatot not know about them? Or was Chatot just trying to be cordial to Blue? I wasn't sure.

"Well, I'm not too sure what explorers or what exploration teams are, to be honest with you." Blue admitted, scratching his nose sheepishly, "Fée explained some of it to me, but it's still mostly confusing to me."

"Ah well, you don't have to worry about that!" Chatot replied in a friendly voice, "With our training regimen, even the most clueless Riolu can become a skilled explorer in no time! Ho, ho!"

I saw Blue's eye twitch a bit as Chatot continued to laugh. I shook my head and sighed. Maybe I should go ask Sunflora about why so many Pokémon treat Blue like this. It's strange. I've never seen anyone talk about any other Pokémon species like this before. Only Riolu.

"Now that we're all acquainted with each other," Chatot said. Blue snorted sarcastically as Chatot made a large show out of clearing his throat, "I would like to know one more thing from you two before we register you as an official apprentice at our guild."

"One more thing?" I asked, confused.

"That's right. This is the most important tidbit of all, so think about it wisely." Chatot smiled and held out his right wing. I gulped nervously. What kind of question could this be? If I answered it wrong, would they kick me out? Agh, I don't wanna think about such things right now!

"Ahem, Fée, Blue," He said slowly, "I would like to ask you to tell me what your dreams are."

"Dreams?" Blue and I both spoke at the same time.

Chatot nodded and proceeded to explain, "That's right. The most important aspect of being an explorer is to have a strong, personal dream to strive for. It's what gives you the drive and willpower to succeed in becoming a great explorer, you see. So having your own dream is important not only for your success, but for your own personal growth!"

"I see!" I clapped my paws together. This was an important question, no doubt. Thankfully, I already knew my answer to that question. It was an answer that I've held inside of me for a long time.

I stood up and, without a single shred of nervousness, told Chatot, "My dream is to become a real explorer! I want to go out and see the world with my own eyes, and go on expeditions!"

"Very good!" Chatot laughed happily as he clapped his wings together, "I like your drive, Fée! You're going to go far, I believe!"

"Thank you, Mr. Chatot!" I blushed and sat back down, feeling relieved and happy.

"Now then, what about you?" Chatot gestured to Blue, who was silently pondering something by himself. He looked up and folded his arms in front of his chest.

"Hm... a dream, huh?" He said in a low voice, "A dream..."

"That's right, don't be shy!" Chatot urged him, "It's important to have a dream, and it's also important to let us know so we can help you achieve that goal!"

"Hm..." Blue closed his eyes. He seemed like he was deep in thought.

As I watched him think, I suddenly realized. Blue had never really spoken to me about his own desires or dreams before. Usually, when the topic comes up, he just listens while I tell him about my dreams. I thought back to the day I first met Blue. When I pulled him out of the ocean.

He said he lost his memories, but other than when we first met, it never seemed like a large deal to him. I wondered, what was he like before he lost his memories? Did he have a dream or a purpose that he was trying to reach before I found him in the ocean? How does he feel about that question? Would he be confused, or sad? All these worried thoughts kept swimming around my head as I waited for Blue to answer Chatot.

Suddenly, I felt Blue's paw around my body. He pulled me close to his side all of a sudden, jarring me out of my thoughts. I looked up at him, startled. He was grinning widely at Chatot, who was watching us curiously.

"My dream? I don't have one right now!" Blue announced proudly, "But, for now, I'm helping my friend fulfill hers. Is that good enough for you, Chatot?"

"B – Blue!" I stuttered, blushing furiously as I pushed myself out of his grasp. I shook my head and said, "That's not what he's talking ab– I mean, what about your own dreams?"

"My own dreams?" Blue repeated, looking a little confused, "I don't have any, Fée. Don't you remember? I can't remember a thing prior to two days ago. How can I have a dream if I can't remember anything?"

"But," It was exactly what I was worrying about earlier. I looked at him worryingly, "You can't just go and forget about yourself just to help me with my dream, Blue!"

"Why not?"

"Why... not?"

Blue shrugged, "It's not like I'll be able to come up with a dream of my own in just three days. So for now, I don't see why I can't help you until I remember a little bit more about myself."

"But... how do you feel about... not having a dream...?"

"How do I feel?" Blue cupped his chin with his paw and mulled over my question for a few seconds. "I guess I don't really care about it right now. After all, it's not like I can feel bad about something I can't even remember."

"Or maybe," Blue gained a snide look on his face, "you've gotten strong all of a sudden and you no longer need my help, Fée?"

He tapped the ribbon on my ear playfully. I blushed even harder as I tried to refute him, "No! No, that's not it at all! I'm not that strong yet! I still need you, Blue!"

I suddenly realized what I said and felt my entire face turn bright red. I buried my searing hot face in my paws and looked away while Blue began to laugh cheerfully.

Was it that fun to make me blush? It feels like everyone's picking on me lately, jeez!

"Well... I suppose that answer works, ahem." Chatot said slowly. He sounded a little hesitant. Maybe he was surprised by our sudden argument.

"Alright then, now that we know about your dreams and desires..." Chatot pointed a wing at Guildmaster Wigglytuff, "Guildmaster, would you mind doing the honors?"

"Mffph?" Guildmaster Wigglytuff looked startled at Chatot's sudden request. Several wet apples dropped onto the floor as he hurriedly tried to stuff them into his mouth.

"Guildmaster..." Chatot's wing appeared to wilt as he watched his boss scramble around the room, chasing after stray apples. He covered his face and shook his black – feathered head exasperatedly.

After taking a big gulp, Guildmaster Wigglytuff swallowed all of the apples he had in his mouth and quickly ducked behind his desk. Blue and I watched with interest as the Guildmaster began to fling out object after object out from underneath his desk. Golden coins, shiny cups, pretty orbs, moldy berries, cute dolls, dirty rocks, ornate sculptures and more flew out from that mess of a desk.

Eventually, the avalanche of garbage halted as Guildmaster Wigglytuff popped himself back out from underneath the desk, holding a small, gold – colored chest. The Guildmaster waddled over to Blue and I and placed the box in front of us.

The chest was squarish, almost in a perfect cube shape. It looked like it was made out of solid gold, but I noticed that parts of the box had a dull, grayish color, where the golden color appeared to be flaking off. The gold must've been applied to the box with paint instead of actually being made of gold. At the side of the box was a small clasp, made in the shape of a small, circular button with wings protruding out from the side.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Guildmaster Wigglytuff eagerly said, "Open it up!"

I looked over to Blue, who gave me a curt nod. We both reached over to the box's clasp and unlocked it together. The box's lid swung open on its own, as if it was eager to show us what was inside.

"This is an explorer's kit!" I squealed as I saw what was inside the box. I quickly stuffed my paws inside and yanked out every item, holding them up one by one for Blue to see.

"That's right, it's an explorer's kit." Chatot said in a serious voice. He leapt down from his post and addressed me with his wing, "With this, you are now officially considered apprentices of Wigglytuff's Gui –"

"Look Blue! It's a Treasure Map! Only explorers get to own these!" I spoke with a childish glee as I held up a scroll of dusty parchment. Chatot looked miffed that I interrupted him, but I just couldn't contain myself, "It's a map of the entire frontier! Every forest, lake, mountain, cave and more are shown on this map!"

"Oh, and look! It's a real explorer's bag!" I yanked out the two brown bags that were stuffed inside the box. The bags were made out of thick and tough leather, completely unlike the soft, fragile cloth that my own bag was made of. The bags had the same clasp on them as the box. I eagerly opened up one of the bags and found it filled to the brim with all sorts of helpful tools.

"Ooh, it's a compass! And look, there's a canteen and berry pots and, oh wow! There's even some bandages and rope!"

My eyes were sparkling as I held up a length of rope for Blue to see. He chuckled and took it from my paws.

"It's just a rope, Fée," He sounded like he was having trouble trying to hold back his mirth, "you're so excited over this."

"How can I not be?" I replied indignantly as I shoved a compass in his face, "This is the stuff that real explorers use on expeditions! This is... this is..."

"A compass," Blue remarked as he pushed the compass away from his muzzle.

"No..." I shook my head and put the compass back into the bag, "This is the stuff I've dreamed of for my entire life, Blue."

I stood up and closed the bag, making sure the clasp was tightly refastened. Then, with my teeth, I pulled the bag over my head and wore it around my neck. It clashed horribly with my old, worn pink bag. But I didn't care. I wore both of the bags together, slowly spinning myself around and admiring the texture and weight of a real explorer's bag around my neck.

"It's a real explorer's bag...!" I whispered gleefully as I sat back down and embraced the bag, as if it was my own child, "And it's mine!"

"What are these, Fée?" I looked up from the bag and saw that Blue was holding two white objects in his paws.

"Aah!" I quickly rushed forward and snatched one of them out of his paws, startling him. I held it up into the air, where I could see it clearly in the sunlight.

It was a small, white badge. It's body was a perfect circle, with a gorgeous pink gem set in the center of it. At the sides of the badge were two beautifully sculpted wings. I flipped the badge around to look at the back. There was a small patch of cloth attached to it where I could write my name, proving that it was mine. Underneath that was a metal fastener so I could wear it, proving that I was a explorer. Finally, at the bottom was a miniscule carving that read 'WIGGLY TUFF GUILD.'

"This is an explorer's badge! A real explorer's badge!" I was awed by the little white badge. The old, broken badge that I had before couldn't hold a candle to the sheer beauty of the real thing! From the pure, white color of the body to the pretty little pink gem embedded in it... I simply couldn't contain my happiness from just holding it! And... best of all...

"It's mine!" I turned to Blue and gave him a great, big hug. His eyes bugged out as I squeezed him tightly and shouted in his ear, "It's mine! It's mine! It's mine!"

"Geeh! Fée! You're doing it again! Ouch!"

"It's mine! It's mine!"

I've never felt so happy before in my entire life!


	16. The Legendary Panacea Elixir

**• ****  
Chapter 15:**

**"****The Legendary Panacea Elixir**"

"Wow Fée! You look great!"

As Blue and I exited the Guildmaster's Office with our brand new explorers' kit, Sunflora, Loudred and Corphish crowded around us while wearing congratulatory looks on their faces. Sunflora rushed up to me and, before I could even react, pulled me into one of her overly friendly embraces again while Loudred and Corphish went up to Blue and shook his paw.

"Congratulations on becoming apprentices!" Sunflora said as she lifted me into the air, "Hurray for Fée! Hurray for Blue!"

"Geeh!" I struggled to escape her choking embrace, but it quickly became impossible once she began to spin around, blissfully unaware of my discomfort. I could see everyone else giving me pitying looks as we twirled around like an out of control Hitmontop.

"Sunflora, you're gonna send her to the infirmary before she even gets to start her training," Loudred snickered, "now come on, let the poor Eevee go and let's show our new buds around the place."

"Ooh, alright," Sunflora pouted as she reluctantly let me go. I gasped for breath as I quickly ran beside Blue, wary of being captured again by the friendly sunflower. Sunflora looked a little dejected when I ran away, but she quickly brightened back up as she clasped her leaves together.

"Ooh, I just had the most wonderful idea!" She addressed the two of us with a beaming smile on her face, "I'm gonna go grab a friend of mine, and we can show you around the base, Fée! Ooh, this is going to be exciting!"

She merrily skipped off toward one of the larger entrances around the cavern and waved at us to follow her before vanishing through the archway. Feeling excited and curious, I pranced across the cavern little child while Blue and the rest followed along. The two bags I was wearing bounced up and down as I skipped through the grassy floor.

The elation I felt from finally having my own explorer's pack was still flooding through my body. Every few seconds, I couldn't help but stop and glance down at the weighty brown bag at my side. It made me feel a sense of pride and happiness that I finally got my paws on something that I coveted so much.

Blue wasn't wearing his bag yet; his was still in the little golden box that the Guildmaster gave us. He said that his shoulders are too sore to wear something as heavy as an explorer's pack right now. I found it a bit of a shame. I'd imagine he'd look really handsome wearing an actual explorer's pack! He did, however, agree to wear his explorer's badge though!

Speaking of badges, I stopped and reached up to my right ear. The ribbon that Blue gave me was still there, but I had added something to it. My explorer's badge was attached to the little bow that he tied onto, making it look like something of a fancy fastener for it! I giggled a little bit to myself as I touched the pink gem on the badge. A flood of elation surged through my body. Even though I was just an apprentice, wearing this badge made me feel like I was a real explorer already!

"Come on you guys!" I turned around and urged the slow boys to hurry up with a big smile on my face, "Let's go!"

Giggling to myself, I skipped through the archway that Sunflora went through. I found myself standing at the end of a long, earthy hallway that was covered from top to bottom with tree roots. One massive root – originating from the tree trunk in the main cavern I assumed – raced across the ceiling and splintered off into a web of roots that crawled haphazardly down the walls and onto the floor. Small lanterns hung off the main root on the ceiling, filling the hallway with a bright, orange glow.

As I walked down the hallway, I noticed that there were several cute, rounded doors that were expertly fitted in the gaps between the roots. I walked up to one of the doors and found that there were several small letters carved into the wood. They appeared to be names.

"Loudred and Corphish and –"

Suddenly, the door opened up on its own, preventing me from reading out the last name. I quickly stepped back before it struck me on the nose. I took a quick peek past the door, but my view was obstructed by a stray root. Annoyed, I tried to take a step inside to get a closer look, but my foot suddenly collided into something soft.

"Golly, y – you're...!" The soft thing yelped something strange and hurriedly jumped back into the room. He quickly tried to close the door. Thankfully, he paused right before the wood smacked me in the muzzle. I saw the timid Pokémon poke around the side of the door, peeking out at me.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" I quickly apologized to the Pokémon. Thankfully, the Pokémon shook its head and slowly revealed himself.

"I ain't hurt at all," The Pokémon said, looking a little sheepish, "just startled, is all. I wasn't expecting a Pokémon to appear in front of the door, Ms. Eevee."

He slowly moved the door aside and walked out of the room. He was a small, brown – furred Pokémon. He had a black snout with two large front teeth sticking out from the bottom, while the fur around his eyes was colored cream. His beady little eyes stared nervously at me. Maybe he was a little shy?

"My name's Bidoof, miss," he said in a quiet voice that was almost a whisper, "yup, yup."

"Thank goodness you weren't hurt," I sighed out of relief and smiled at Bidoof. He seemed like a nice Pokémon. I pointed a paw at the room he was in and asked, "do you mind if I come inside and take a look around?"

Bidoof gained a worried look on his face when I said that. He bit his lip as his eyes began to nervously dart around the hallway again. I looked around too, trying to see what he was so anxious about. But all I could find were more doors and the empty hallway around us. But and the rest of the boys were nowhere to be found. They must be taking their sweet time to follow me, I figured.

"Golly, I don't know," he said after he took another cursory look around the hall, "I'm ain't supposed to let other Pokémon inside without permission, Ms. Eevee."

"Really?" I said, my ears drooping out of disappointment. "I kinda wanted to see what was inside. It looks cozy in there."

"Gosh! I, um," Bidoof stuttered, looking startled. He shuffled his feet nervously before saying, "well... I reckon it's alright if you take a quick peek... but don't tell no body about this, alright?"

My ears perked up again at what he said. I clapped my front paws together and nodded enthusiastically at Bidoof. He turned around and slowly opened up the door to the room more so I could go inside.

"Wow..." It was a small, cozy – looking den. Soft, green moss and roots covered the walls, making the place look nice and homely. A table made out of a tree stump lied at the side of the room with a lit lantern sitting on top. Three bales of hay were placed on the floor, each looking like they've been slept in for a while.

Bidoof nervously paced around the room as I walked around, gazing curiously at everything. Loads of junk were piled up against the walls, making the entire room look rather messy. Half eaten meals were littered all over the floor. I constantly had to watch my step in case I accidentally trod on something disgusting.

Some colorful posters displaying various Pokémon were stuck up on the dirt walls. One poster was advertising a group of attractive – looking female Pokémon lead by a pretty Lopunny that was making a suggestive pose. Flustered by the risqué poster, I turned away from it and walked over to the table, where several books were piled on top of in a haphazard fashion..

"Oh wow!" I exclaimed, making Bidoof jump with a start. I picked up a thick, black – colored book that was lying on the table and showed it to him.

"Is this your copy of 'Dusknoir's Travels?' It's my favorite book!" I asked him excitedly. Bidoof nodded slowly as I smiled widely at him, "I had my own copy once," I said, reminiscing fondly about my own copy, "but I've read the book so many times that the pages and the covers all eventually fell apart."

I gave Bidoof a sheepish grin as I sat down, holding the book, "I've been looking to buy another copy for a while now, but the price at Kecleon's was so high that I gave up," I looked back at Bidoof's book and said, "to have a copy in such good quality... I'm a little jealous of you."

"Gosh..." He suddenly spoke up as I put the book back down on the table. When I turned back around to look at him, he had a small blush on his face, "erm... if you want, you can have that there book."

"Really?" My eyes widened out of surprise. I glanced at the black book in my paws for a second, but then I quickly shook my head, "No, I can't accept this." I put the book back on the table and smiled at Bidoof, "Thank you for your kind offer, Bidoof, but I can't just take something so expensive from someone I just met!"

"Naw, it's fine!" he quickly said, his face still blushing furiously for some reason, "I can't really make heads or tails of that book anyhow. It's too complicated for little old me."

"What do you mean?" I asked, tilting my head curiously, "You can read, right?"

"Yes'm," He said in a low, dejected voice, "but y'see, I can't really understand all these fancy words you townfolk use here, and that book is full of those complicated sentences and paragraphs that I just confuses the stuffin' out of me."

"That's a shame... I kinda wanted to know which chapter you liked the most..."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Eevee..."

I shook my head and smiled, "Nah, it's alright, Bidoof," I considered his words for a moment before realizing something. I looked up at the bucktoothed Pokémon and asked, "You said you couldn't understand the words that the townsfolk used... does that mean you're not from Treasure Town, Bidoof?"

He shook his head, "Naw, I came from the other side of the mountain range. All the way from the riversides, I did," Bidoof glanced down at his feet, looking away from me, "I arrived here at Treasure Town but a few weeks ago, yup, yup."

"From beyond the mountain range? That's pretty far away!" I said, impressed, "And you're already an apprentice here at Wigglytuff's Guild? You're incredible, Bidoof!"

"I s'pose," his face turned bright red as I heaped mounds of praise on the guy, "I'm still just an apprentice though. Just joined up here at Wigglytuff's but two days ago."

"Then we're fellow apprentices!" I announced cheerfully as I eagerly pointed at the badge on my ear. I puffed out my chest with a small hint of pride, "You said you became an apprentice two days ago? Well, I became an apprentice just a few moments ago!"

Bidoof looked a little surprised, but he just nodded and pointed at my ear with his paw, "I figured you were an apprentice from that there pretty bow you have on your ear." I blushed a little as I patted my bow thoughtfully. Bidoof gave me a bucktoothed smile and said, "Though, I didn't know you just joined right now. I thought you might've been visitin' from other guilds."

"Naw, I ain't from any other guild," Feeling playful, I went and copied his mannerisms, making him blush a little. "Wigglytuff's Guild was the only guild I ever thought about joining." I looked at him and asked, "What about you, Bidoof? Is there a reason why you picked Wigglytuff's Guild?"

"Gosh, it's pretty embarrassin' for me to say," Bidoof said as he lowered his head, "promise me you wont laugh?"

I held my paw up to my chest and said confidently, "I promise."

Bidoof blushed as he raised up his head, "Well, I trust you, Ms. Eevee." His cheeks reddened as he began to recount his story.

"Y'see, the reason why I picked Wigglytuff's Guild was because Wigglytuff's was the only guild that would take me in." He held up his paw and counted his stubby little fingers, "When I went over t' Machoke's, those super strong Pokémon just took a single look at little ol' me and laughed me out of the guildhouse, they did." A sad frown appeared on his face as he reminisced, "Then, when I went over to try at Kadabra's, I ended up failin' the test they gave me."

He sighed dejectedly as he shrugged, "I couldn' really understand the questions they put on that test. I lacked the smarts needed for those questions. So I ended up gettin' the worst grade out of all the applicants."

"I'm sorry to hear that..." I said sympathetically. He shook his head and waved his paws around frantically.

"Y' don't have to feel sorry for little ol' me, Ms. Eevee!" He said, "'course, I ended up walkin' all the way over to Wigglytuff's. They were my last chance to become an explorer, and I was willin' to get down on my belly and beg them to take me in as an apprentice."

"And then you became one!" I said with a grin.

He nodded and returned my smile, "That's right. That Chatot Pokémon was really scary at first, but when I told him that my wish was to become an explorer, he suddenly became downright friendly an' helpful!"

A big smile appeared on his face as he chuckled sheepishly. I noticed that he had a familiar look on his face as he talked about his wish. It was the same expression I wore when I dreamed about becoming an explorer. I giggled. I felt a strange connection between Bidoof and I, since we were both explorer enthusiasts!

"I'm the same, Bidoof!" I said cheerfully, stifling my giggles, "I've always wanted to be an explorer for as long as I remember."

"You too?" He sounded surprised at my reply, "Golly, what are the odds?"

We laughed together for a while. Even though we just met, I could tell that Bidoof was a nice, friendly Pokémon. I had a feeling that we could be good friends eventually.

"Hey, _hey!_" Suddenly, the door behind us slammed open with a loud _bang! _I quickly turned my head toward the entrance of the room, my mouth wide open. Bidoof yelped and ducked underneath one of the piles of hay.

Corphish, followed by Loudred and Blue strolled into the room. The red shelled Pokémon glared at me while pointing one of his large pincers at my face. I gulped and scooted away from the sharp pincers, not wanting that thing anywhere near my face again.

"This room's off limits to girls and intruders, Fée!" Corphish bellowed, swinging his pincer to the side and hitting the door, "You're trespassing on private property!"

"Off limits?" I asked timidly. Corphish nodded furiously as he scuttled over to where I was sitting. He rushed behind me and began to shove me toward the door. As I slid across the room, I spotted Bidoof nervously peeking out at the commotion from underneath the hay.

"That's right," Corphish said, apparently unaware of Bidoof's presence, "there's important things inside that room that only Loudred and I are allowed to see! No intruders are permitted to enter!"

"I don't understand...!" I exclaimed as Corphish threw me out of the room none – too – gently. Blue leaned over and caught me before I hit the ground. I thanked Blue and turned around, staring confusedly at Corphish, who was now barring entrance into the room by extending his pincers out to the sides of the doorway.

"I can explain," Loudred replied with a wry smile on his face, "he just doesn't want you to see his 'Happy Evolution Diary,' Fée."

"Loudred!" Corphish shouted, looking betrayed. Loudred just reared back and laughed loudly at Corphish.

"It's not even that interesting to read," Loudred remarked, winking at me, "it's just pages upon pages of him making up stories about what he's gonna do when he evolves."

Corphish looked away out of embarrassment, his face somehow turning a shade redder than usual. Out from underneath his pincer, I spotted Bidoof slowly coming out from underneath the hay. I poked Loudred to get his attention and pointed at Bidoof.

"Oy Doofy, what are you doing hiding down there?" Loudred chuckled and waved at the little bucktoothed Pokémon, "Get over here and introduce yourself to our new buddies!"

Nervously, Bidoof crawled out from underneath his hiding spot and hid behind Corphish, his eyes were trained on the new stranger in the area, Blue.

"Erm... my name's Bidoof," he said in a quiet voice, "i – It's nice t' meet ya, Mr. R – Riolu."

"My name's Blue," He said casually as he held out his paw for Bidoof to shake. Bidoof glanced at Blue with a confused look on his face.

"'Blue?'" He said as he shook Blue's paw hesitantly, "Golly, I can't say I've ever heard such an interestin' name before."

"You're not the first," Blue remarked wryly as he shot me an amused glance. I coughed and looked away, feeling a little embarrassed. After all, I was the one who gave him that name.

Bidoof let go of Blue's paw and took a step back. He looked curiously at me, and then at Blue.

"...did the two of you join together?" He asked in an oddly quiet voice.

Blue and I both nodded together. I pointed at Blue and said, "Blue and I both came here this morning together and registered as apprentices," I smiled at Blue and he responded by patting me on the head.

"Oh... I see..."

"Oh, I never did tell you, did I?" I happily held out my paw to Bidoof, "My name's Fée. It's good to meet you."

Bidoof didn't accept my paw immediately for some reason. Instead, the bucktoothed Pokémon kept shooting wary glances at Blue as if he was scared of him.

"Bidoof?" I asked concernedly, startling him a bit. He quickly ran up and tightly gripped my paw with both of his, making me wince a little.

"Ouch!"

"Eep! I'm sorry about that, Ms. Fée!" He hastily let go of his grasp on my paw and stepped back, keeping his eyes squarely focused on Blue. I shook my paw, trying to get rid of the stinging feeling. It didn't really hurt, but his strength did startle me. He was a lot stronger than I expected.

I noticed that Bidoof continued to gaze warily at Blue. I looked up at my friend, wondering what was it about it that made Bidoof so nervous. Blue didn't really have a scary expression on his face or anything, to me, he just looked as he usually did. Though, his face and body was covered in several recent scars, so I guess that it was because of his rugged appearance that was making Bidoof nervous.

"You don't have to be afraid of Blue," I said cheerfully as I gave Bidoof a soft pat on his paw, "he's a little ragged looking right now, but he's a really nice guy!"

"I'm ragged looking?" Blue commented as he began to examine his body. He showed his arms to Loudred and Corphish, looking for confirmation. I rolled my eyes and looked back to Bidoof, who was now staring at me, his face blushing bright red again for some reason.

"I... I ain't really scared of yer friend, Ms. Fée," He stuttered as he quickly withdrew his paw from mine, "I'm just... really shy, is all."

With that, Bidoof hastily bowed in front of Blue and ducked back into their room, shutting the door behind him, smacking Corphish away from the doorway. Corphish stared at the door, stunned, before giving Loudred a puzzled look.

Loudred just shrugged and said, "I guess he really is shy," he nudged Blue with his elbow and winked, "maybe your scars and stuff scared the heck out of him."

Blue scratched his nose sheepishly and asked Loudred, "Should I go apologize?"

"Haha!" Loudred chuckled and slapped Blue on the shoulder, "Nah, it's fine! I'm sure he'll warm up to you once you're all healed up and clean!"

"Oh, that's right!" I was reminded of something important. I moved behind Blue and nudged him forward with my paws, "You said something about an infirmary earlier, right Loudred?"

"Mmhm."

I sighed out of relief, "Thank goodness..."

"What's the matter, Fée?" Blue turned around and looked at me with concern in his eyes, "Did you get hurt?"

"No, you dummy!" I shouted frustratedly. I shook my head at how clueless he was, "I meant for you!"

"Me?"

I nodded, "That's right. You've been walking around for two days now with all those wounds on you. It's time you got yourself some rest!"

Blue folded his arms and grumbled, "I don't need any rest. I'm fine, see?" He held out his right arm and flexed it. I sighed exasperatedly. I've already seen him try this once already. If it didn't work the first time, it wasn't going to work again.

"Blue, I know you're really strong, but I don't want to keep seeing you hurt all over like this..."

Blue opened his mouth to reply, but I gave him a sharp poke on his back, making him jump up with a start.

"You know, she has a point," Loudred commented as he looked over Blue's arms and legs, "I've gotten quite a few bad scrapes before on expeditions, but all those cuts and bruises on your body look way worse than anything I've ever seen before."

"Makes you wish you got a shell like mine, don't ya?" Corphish added, swinging his pincers up and down gleefully, "I don't bruise or get cut easily at all, hey, hey!"

I watched as Blue held up his arms to the lamp light from the ceiling, examining his old scars. When he held up his right leg, I quickly turned away. Out of all of the wounds he had on his body, the ones present on his right leg were the worst. I couldn't help but keep my gaze averted from him as he looked closely at his leg. It was too much for me to handle.

"Yeesh, did you get your leg crushed by a boulder or something?" I heard Corphish remark with a disgusted tone, "It looks horrible!"

"It was actually a bunch of pebbles, not a boulder," Blue corrected the pincer Pokémon.

"What?" Corphish sounded confused. Evidently, he wasn't expecting an actual answer from Blue. He looked as though he wanted to ask Blue for an explanation, but as he opened his mouth, someone else's voice cut through the corridor.

"Heeeey!" Everyone turned toward the source of the call. Sunflora was running down the corridor, waving one of her leaves at us. Strangely, every time she took a step, a light tinkling noise would echo down the hall.

"Sunflora!" I shouted and waved at the flowery Pokémon, "That's weird though... I thought she was bringing her friend with her?"

"L – Loudred..." I heard Corphish speak with a strange, nervous quiver in his voice. I turned around and saw a strange sight. Both Loudred and Corphish had similar, anxious expressions on their faces, and they appeared to be sweating nervously.

"T... this ain't good at all," Loudred said in an oddly quiet voice. I tilted my head questioningly at them, wondering what was making them look so strange.

"What's going on?" I asked curiously. They didn't answer though, and instead, for some reason, their eyes kept flitting toward Blue, who just looked confused as usual.

Corphish edged closer to Loudred and whispered something inaudible into his ear. Loudred seemed to agree with the red – shelled Pokémon, as he nodded quickly. The two of them separated and suddenly surrounded Blue.

"Wha –?" Blue couldn't even voice his confusion before he was suddenly hauled up into the air by Loudred's strong arms.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" I shouted at them out of surprise.

"I'll explain later," Loudred said as he hoisted a struggling Blue onto his shoulder. He glanced over to Corphish and gave him a nod, which Corphish reciprocated. He turned back to me and said, "for now, it's best I get this guy outta here before those two gets any closer!"

With that, Loudred spun around and made a mad dash down the hall and toward the main cavern with Blue still struggling in vain to get off his shoulder. I looked over to Corphish, who looked torn between following after Loudred or to stay guarding the door to his room.

"Ergh..." He noticed my gaze and made an odd coughing noise. He glanced over to the slowly approaching Sunflora, then back at me.

"Y – you know what?" He suddenly said in a panicky voice, "The mighty Crawdaunt trusts that you wont go and trespass into my room, but only this once!"

Suddenly, he turned around and scuttled off speedily after Loudred, leaving me alone and confused in the hallway.

"W – wait, where are you going?" I shouted after them, but by the time I said it, they were already gone and out of sight. I stared at them blankly, still trying to puzzle out what just happened.

"Oh my gosh, where did they go?" I heard Sunflora speak from behind me. I turned around and shrugged.

"I don't know!" I said, frowning, "They said something about having to get away before you get any closer, then they suddenly ran away."

The flowery Pokémon shook her head and folded her leaves in front of her as she frowned. I noticed that, even though Sunflora had stopped running, the strange tinkling noise continued to ring.

"Sunflora, what is that strange sound?" I asked curiously.

"Strange sound?" Sunflora held up one of her leaves and looked around her. The sound rang out again, giving Sunflora a start. She turned around and clasped her leaves together with a big smile, "Oh! You mean Chimecho?"

"Chimecho?" I repeated the word she said curiously. I looked at where Sunflora was standing at before, and found that there was another Pokémon there.

The Pokémon resembled a cute little glass wind chime, the same kind that Kangaskhan and her son puts out over the entrance of her house during the summer. But this chime was floating in the air on its own, and it had a small face with an equally small pair of arms jutting out of its' side. A long, floral – patterned ribbon was flowing out from underneath the Pokémon's body.

"It's good to meet you, Fée. My name is Chimecho." Her voice was calming and mellow. She bowed her head and held out her ribbon to me.

I stared silently at the ribbon for a second before I realized that she wanted me shake it. I carefully put my paw on top of her ribbon. It felt incredibly soft and velvety, but it also had a fragile feeling to it. I was afraid that if I put even a little more strength into my paw, that I would accidentally tear it.

"You don't have to be so careful around me, Fée," Chimecho said with a cute giggle as she sensed my apprehension. She wrapped her ribbon around my paw and squeezed it surprisingly tightly. She gave me a wink and said, "I'm stronger than I look."

"It's nice to meet you too, Chimecho," I said with a smile as she unwrapped her ribbon from my paw. "Are you an apprentice here too?"

The little wind chime Pokémon nodded her head, making a quiet tinkling noise as she moved.

"I'm an apprentice just like you, yes," she said, "but I do more around here than just explore."

I tilted my head questioningly, "Oh? What do you do then?"

Chimecho giggled and floated past me in a delicate manner. She turned around to look at me, her face sly and a little scary.

"Oh, you'll find out when we find your friends..."

Suddenly, I felt as though the temperature in the hallway dropped like a stone.

* * *

"Let me go!"

Blue continued to growl indignantly as Loudred lugged his body through the corridor. Once they reached the main cavern, Loudred plucked the Riolu off his shoulder and held him over his head while he frantically glanced around. Blue struggled to wriggle out of the Pokémon's grip, but his arms and gets were both pinned together by the big – mouthed Pokémon's huge hands.

"Hey, hey!" Corphish cried out as he caught up to them. He quickly rapped Loudred's feet with his pincer to grab his attention, "What do we do? Chimecho's coming!"

"We gotta hide before she catches sight of Blue," Loudred panicked, "chaos will break loose if she sees him in this state. Come on!"

"Wait, what's going o–" Blue tried to say, but he was quickly silenced when Loudred jammed his body underneath his armpit like a textbook. He gagged as a rancid stench wafted into his nostrils from underneath Loudred's arm.

Loudred stamped the grassy floor loudly as he rushed over to the other side of the cavern, knocking aside cushions and tables as he charged across the room. He halted in front of Corphish's pool of water. He quickly cast a glance behind him before withdrawing Blue from underneath his arm.

"Wait... wait hold on!" Blue panicked as he realized what Loudred was going to do. He tried as he might to struggle against the large Pokémon's clutches, but it was futile.

"Sorry, but you'll thank me for this later!"

Blue tried to shout, but he was quickly shut up by a torrent of icy cold water flooding into his mouth. Loudred had thrown him bodily into the pool of water, making a huge splash and spilling water all over the ground.

Blue splashed around wildly for a few seconds before realizing that the pool was shallow enough for him to stand. He waded over to the edge of the pool and tried to pull himself out, but Loudred placed his large hand on Blue's head and roughly shoved him back inside.

"Blugh!" Blue spat out another mouthful of water as he resurfaced again. He shot angry glares at Loudred and Corphish, "What's the big idea?"

Loudred leaned over to the side of the water and gave Blue an apologetic look. "I'm sorry Blue, but you gotta hide yourself!" He took a quick peek behind him before saying, "There's a dangerous Pokémon on the loose."

"If she sees all those wounds on you, she'll go ballistic!" Corphish shrieked, clacking his pincers frantically, "You have to hide, Blue! Not even the mighty Crawdaunt can save you from her wrath!"

Blue gave the two of them confused stares. "Her? Who are you talking about? Sunflora?"

The two of them shook their heads wildly.

"No, it's not Sunflora," Loudred said in a hushed whisper, "it's another Pokémon by the name of Chimecho. She runs the infirmary, and she kinda kinda... scary if she sees anyone with injuries on them."

"So that's why you have to hide!" Corphish jumped into the water and grabbed onto to Blue's arms with his pincers, "hurry, get below the surface!"

Blue, although still unsure as to what was going on, could sense the sheer amount of panic and fear emanating from the two Pokémon. He decided to comply and follow their advice for the time being. He took a deep breath and pulled his body underwater, but decided to leave his muzzle and eyes poking out from the surface. From a distance, he resembled an oddly furry – looking water lily.

"Loudred!"

Blue's ears perked up as he heard an angry yell from the other side of the cavern. Loudred and Corphish both leapt up, startled. They turned around robotically, sweating nervously as they addressed the voice. Blue peeked through Loudred's legs to see what was going on.

Sunflora was storming toward them in a huff, followed by Fée and another Pokémon he didn't recognize. The flowery Pokémon stopped right in front of Loudred, staring suspiciously into his eyes. Fée and Chimecho halted in front of them as well, with Fée looking around with a puzzled expression on her face.

"Where's Blue?" She asked, looking around for the missing Riolu.

"Blue?" Loudred looked away from Sunflora and spoke in an unconvincingly confused voice, "Who's Blue? Do you mean the sky is blue today? Because it's really, really blue today, right Corphish?"

Corphish jumped up, startled. Loudred shot a quick wink at the little lobster Pokémon, who responded with the smallest of nods and said, "Yeah! The sky's pretty blue today! Azure! Aquamarine! Um... cobalt?"

Fée stared at Loudred as if he had suddenly gone insane. Sunflora sighed in exasperation and covered her face with her leaf. Chimecho, on the other hand, stayed silent and lightly floated over to where Loudred was standing. She tried to look over his shoulder, but Loudred blocked her view by casually putting his hands behind his head.

"C – Chimecho! I didn't see you there!" Loudred said in a loud, casual voice, "G – good weather we have today, yeah? I really like it when the sky's all blue and shiny! Ha, ha, ha!"

Loudred clutched the back of his head with his right hand and bellowed out a forced – sounding laugh. With his left hand, he urged Corphish to laugh too by patting him on the back. Corphish winced as he felt Loudred's forceful hit, but he laughed anyway.

"Ha, ha, ha...!"

A plume of bubbles escaped Blue's mouth as he sighed. The two of them were absolutely awful at keeping secrets. As he submerged himself a little more, he felt an odd tingling sensation at the back of his neck. He looked around with his eyes as inconspicuously as possible, but he couldn't find anything around him.

"Loudred, Corphish," Sunflora narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the laughing pair, "where did you two hide Blue?"

"Hide? What do you mean hide?"

An acute sense of danger was flooding through Blue's body. The strange sensation was getting stronger and stronger, and he still couldn't find the source of it. He tried to raise his right arm, but he found that his arm couldn't move for some reason. In fact, his entire body was slowly becoming rigid and immobile, like a log.

"That's enough." An icy voice suddenly rang out from behind Loudred and Corphish. Immediately, Loudred and Corphish broke out in cold sweat as they slowly turned their gaze toward the wind chime. Chimecho was serenely hovering over the water pool, just a few inches behind where Blue's head was floating. Her cute little face wasn't displaying any emotion at all. Instead, her eyes were closed and it appeared as though she as focusing on something.

Blue noticed the odd looks on Loudred and Corphish's faces. He was curious as to what was making the two of them so scared, but at the same thing, an unfamiliar feeling was rushing through his body, telling him not to move an inch. He gulped and tried to peek behind him.

Suddenly, the pool of water was illuminated by an odd blue glow. Looking down, he saw that his arms, body and even his legs were covered by a faint blue outline. He tried to move his limbs, but found that invisible strings had attached themselves to him. He was forcibly reminded of what Drowzee did to him in their battle yesterday.

"Gaaah!" Panic set in as he tried to struggle against the psychic attack, but for every inch he moved, more strings appeared to hold him down. Eventually, he was encased in an odd, invisible cocoon that completely prevented him from moving at all.

"Uh oh," Loudred slapped his face with his palm as he watched Chimecho slowly levitate Blue out of the water and over their heads. This is what he was trying to prevent, but the little wind chime Pokémon must've sneaked past them while they were distracted.

"Blue?!" Fée was aghast at seeing her friend soaked to the bone and floating in the air, "What are you doing in the water?"

"Mmfph!" Blue tried to reply, but Chimecho had bound his muzzle as well, preventing him from being able to talk. All he could do was give the Eevee an apologetic look as he was carried over the grassy floor like a strange, furry mannequin.

"Tsk, tsk," Chimecho made a disapproving sound as she floated around the frozen Riolu. She scanned all over Blue's body with her eyes, taking note of every single cut, bruise and scrape she found.

Blue could do nothing at all but hold still in embarrassment as he was held prisoner by the small wind chime. He suddenly realized why Loudred and Corphish were so afraid of this Pokémon. He tried to beg Fée to help with his eyes, but she was too stunned to move a single paw. As for Loudred and Corphish, the two of them seemed to be content with shooting him sympathetic and pitying looks rather than helping him.

"So..." Chimecho turned toward the Eevee and said, "this is your friend, Blue?"

"Y – yes..." Fée was a little taken aback by Chimecho's sudden change in demeanor, "that's him."

"I see. You weren't exaggerating when you said he was pretty badly injured, Sunflora."

Chimecho's eyes glowed a vibrant blue as she made Blue's body rotate on its own. It was a surreal sight for everyone to see. Poor Blue was forced to spin round and round like a museum exhibit.

"Especially here," Chimecho suddenly halted Blue's rotation and pointed her ribbon at his right leg. She hovered closer to his leg and prodded it with her ribbon, making Blue wince in pain.

"The sheer amount of abuse you have heaped onto this poor leg is unbelievable, Blue." Chimecho stated in a plain voice, "I'm genuinely surprised that you're even still capable of standing on it, let alone being able to walk."

"What?" Fée cried out, staring incredulously at Chimecho."What do you mean by that?"

"I meant what I meant," Chimecho said, turning to the startled Eevee, "just from surface analysis alone, I can see that this leg has been wounded by sharp blades, soaked in unsanitary seawater, exposed to poisonous gasses, suffered repeated physical trauma, and furthermore..."

"F – furthermore...?"

Chimecho gently wrapped her ribbon around Blue's injured leg. She closed her eyes and began to focus. Slowly, the blue glow around her ribbon began to intensify.

"Within his leg lies a large amount of paralyzing toxin," Chimecho announced to a horrified – looking Fée, "this toxin is usually secreted by a Pokémon by the name of Kabuto in order to weaken their prey so they can easily catch them."

Chimecho released her grip on Blue's leg, and in turn, released her psychic control over his entire body. The Riolu collapsed face – first onto the grass, his body was extremely sore from being forced into that immobile state for so long. He rolled over and opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by a worried Fée suddenly tackling him and cradling his arm.

"Geh!"

"Normally, having the toxin present within your leg for so long would render that limb useless within hours," Chimecho stated bluntly, ignoring his groaning form, "most Pokémon end up having to use crutches for the rest of their lives if they can't detoxify the afflicted limb fast enough."

"B – but..." Fée clung tightly onto Blue's arm, "there has to be a way to cure him, there has to!" She buried her face into Blue's fur and shouted, "We just became explorers! I don't want Blue to have to run around with crutches!"

"Wait a sec!" Loudred interrupted loudly, shoving himself into the conversation, "If that toxin really is so deadly, then why does Blue look like he's totally fine?" He jabbed a thick finger at the Riolu, "He's been walking and running around just fine yesterday! Maybe he's immune to that toxin!"

"No, that's impossible," Chimecho stated bluntly, making Loudred wilt like a dried up flower, "unless Blue suddenly became a steel – bodied Pokémon, it's impossible for him to become fully immune to another Pokémon's toxins."

"T – then... is there any kind of berry that can cure him right now?" Fée said hesitantly.

Chimecho folded her ribbon underneath her, making a zig – zag pattern, "I'm sorry to say that there exists no berry in this world that can cure the toxin when it has set in." Chimecho shot Blue a cold look, "If he had taken a Lum Berry immediately after being bitten, then he might've had a chance. However, as of right now, that possibility has been lost."

"Ooh... then what can we do?" Sunflora said worriedly, "You're the doctor, Chimecho! You should have a clue as to what we can do to cure Blue's leg!"

Chimecho closed her eyes and curled her ribbon upward, allowing the tip of the silky cloth to touch the bottom of her face. Everybody stared expectantly at Chimecho, waiting anxiously for the little wind chime to say something, anything. A minute of tension passed by, then another, then another. Every Pokémon continued to wait with bated breath.

Then, after about five or so minutes had passed, Chimecho's eyes opened. She pointed her ribbon at Blue and said in a hesitant voice, "I... do have an idea."

Fée sprung up from the ground, "Really?!" Her eyes were sparkling with hope as she ran up to the wind chime, "What's your idea, Chimecho?"

Chimecho didn't answer, but instead, she floated up into the air silently. She glanced around the room with a nervous glint in her eye.

"Hey, hey, Chimecho," Corphish said as he impatiently beat the ground with his pincers, "you can't just say something like that and then fall silent!"

"That's right," Loudred added, folding his arms, "spill it, Chimecho! What's your idea?"

Chimecho shot an angry stare at the two of them, making them falter and quickly back off, mumbling apologies under their breaths. Then, she sighed and lowered herself and floated toward Blue and Fée.

"My idea... is a little hard to believe," She said to the two, looking nervous, "but, it's the only thing that could come to my mind, no matter how hard I tried to think of another one."

"What is it then?" Blue said.

Chimecho took another nervous glance around the room again before sighing.

"My idea... was for you to take a medicine called the 'Legendary Panacea Elixir,'" Chimecho stated with a certain disgust in her voice. Fée, Blue and the rest of the guild tilted their heads simultaneously in confusion.

"'Legendary Panacea Elixir?'" Corphish said, his voice laced with disbelief, "What the hey is that?"

"It sounds like something out of a storybook, don't you think?" Fée commented, holding a paw up to her chin and mulling over the name, "I think I've actually read about it somewhere before though."

"That's why I didn't want to say it!" Chimecho shouted indignantly, making everyone flinch at her sudden outburst, "It sounds so ridiculous and unreal that even I don't want to believe that it exists!"

Her ribbon shot up angrily and she said, "I'd like you to know that I only prescribe medicines and berries that have scientific basis behind them! Not some fairy tale cure – all like this so – called Panacea!"

"Wait, hold up," Blue interjected, sticking his paw out in front of Chimecho's face, "you said that this 'Panacea' is a cure – all?"

"That's right," Chimecho said with a huff, "it's a legend amongst Pokémon who practice medicine like I do. It's supposedly a special drug that, when ingested, completely cures every ailment that the consumer is currently suffering from."

"Oh!" Fée suddenly piped up. She turned toward Blue and said with a certain glee in her voice, "I remember now!" She clapped her paws together eagerly, "It was mentioned in passing in a chapter of 'Dusknoir's Travels,' where the explorer Dusknoir cures his severely – injured partner with a single Panacea that he discovered on an expedition!"

"Seriously?" Sunflora exclaimed, "If that's the case, then it must exist, right? If it's in Dusknoir's own book!"

"That doesn't prove anything!" Chimecho fumed, "Just because it was in a story book – albeit written by Dusknoir himself – doesn't mean this stupid elixir exists!"

Fée's ears flattened onto her head as she heard Chimecho's remark about her favorite book. Blue noticed and gently patted her head comfortingly. He looked up at Chimecho and frowned.

"Then how do you say we get around to curing my leg?" Blue posed a question to Chimecho, who was still steaming from indignation. Blue took his paw off Fée's head and folded them angrily.

"You were the one who brought up the idea of a miracle cure in the Panacea, Chimecho," he waited for Chimecho to finish trembling in anger at the mention of that word before continuing, "if you're so adamant that such a thing doesn't exist, then why don't you come up with something else?"

"T – that's..." Chimecho suddenly fell silent. Her ribbon fell down and hung underneath her in a limp, defeated fashion. She sighed dejectedly and said, "I... I don't have any ideas on how to cure your leg, Blue. That's why I even bothered to entertain the notion of having you take a miracle medicine that doesn't exist."

Chimecho shook her head and gently lowered herself onto the ground, where she laid her little glassy body on the grass. Blue, Fée and everyone else all fell silent as well, crestfallen at the little doctor's announcement. Fée gently placed a paw on Blue's injured leg and gazed at him sadly.

"Well now, what's with all the sad faces?"

Suddenly, a new voice joined their midst. Everyone turned toward the source of the voice and saw Chatot sauntering toward them, with Guildmaster Wigglytuff following close behind. The two of them looked like they were in good spirits. Guildmaster Wigglytuff waltzed over to Fée and Blue and grinned widely right in front of them

"Friends! You shouldn't all be sitting on the ground sad and depressed when it's such a good day out today!" He gleefully grabbed onto Blue's arm and the back of Fée's ruff and hauled them onto their feet. Then, with the delicacy of a Wailord in a pottery shop, he began to roughly dust them off with his paws.

"Ouch!" Blue winced and cried out when the Guildmaster accidentally brushed against his leg. Blue swatted at the Guildmaster with his paw, trying to get him to stop.

"Oh my!" Guildmaster Wigglytuff took a step back and dodged Blue's attack. The Guildmaster gazed at Blue's wounded leg with a mischievous look in his eye. He suddenly bent down and prodded Blue's leg playfully, eliciting more yelps of pain out of the poor Riolu.

"Cut it out!" Blue shouted angrily as he yanked his leg away from the annoying Guildmaster and scooted away. He warily watched the Guildmaster as he tried to keep his leg away from the pink Pokémon's prying paws.

"Ahem," Chatot coughed loudly, attracting everybody's attention. He gestured toward Blue and said in an oddly theatrical voice, "Well Blue! It looks like your leg is pretty badly injured, is it not?"

Blue glanced at him with a puzzled look in his eye. Didn't Chatot already know about his injury from earlier? Blue wondered why the bird was acting so strangely.

Chatot apparently didn't notice Blue's curious stare, as he turned around and faced Chimecho. He stretched out his wing and pointed at the little wind chime Pokémon and said in the same theatrical voice, "But it shouldn't be an issue, right Chimecho? You are the most most skilled doctor we have here in Wigglytuff's Guild, therefore you can cure his grievous injury in no time, or am I mistaken, Chimecho?""

"Err..." Chimecho looked startled as she was suddenly put on the spot. She glanced around everyone nervously as she tried to think of a way to answer the pompous bird, but she simply couldn't come up with anything.

"What?" Chatot said in a loud, shocked voice, "You mean to tell me that our new apprentice has such a severe wound that not even our greatest doctor can cure?! What an appalling situation we have here!"

Chatot leaned backward on one leg while covering his face melodramatically with his wing. Guildmaster Wigglytuff attempted to do the same pose, but his larger size and weight made him suddenly topple over backward instead.

Confused, Sunflora glanced over to Loudred for an explanation. Loudred, however, just shrugged and gave her an equally confused look while scratching his head.

"Um... Chatot?" Sunflora asked in a worried voice, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Blue!" The bird suddenly sprung up from his odd pose and rushed over to the Riolu. He grasped Blue's paws with both of his wings and proclaimed, "As second – in – command of this guild, I must apologize profusely to you for not being able to aid you in your most dire time of need!"

"Uhm... that's alright...?" Blue was completely dumbfounded by the bird's incredibly strange actions. He tried to pull his paw out from within Chatot's wings, but the bird had grabbed onto his paw tightly and wouldn't let go.

Chatot looked up at the ceiling and continued speaking in his loud, melodramatic voice, "Alas! If only there was a medicine that could cure all that ails you! A legendary panacea elixir if you will!"

Blue mulled over the bird's words for a second. Then, something odd stuck out to him.

"Hey wait a minute, did you just say Pana –"

"Oh woe is us, Guildmaster!" Chatot said in an overly emotional voice, interrupting Blue's sentence, "If only we had a way to procure this mysterious legendary Panacea for our wonderful new apprentice!"

"Oh woe for our new friend!" Guildmaster Wigglytuff said with a big smile on his face. Compared to what he just said, his facial expression was incredibly jarring and out of place. Everyone gaped at Guildmaster Wigglytuff in stunned silence, even Chatot.

"Oh, whoops!" Guildmaster Wigglytuff turned around and quickly rearranged his expression. When he turned back around, he had a sad frown on his face instead of his bright smile.

"Ahem!" Chatot quickly coughed to regain everybody's attention, "I – if only there were a pair of experienced explorers around here that might possibly know the location of such an auspicious medicine! Alas! If only!"

Chatot withdrew his wing and closed his eyes. Then, silence. Nobody spoke at all for a while after Chatot finished. The bird, sensing that something was wrong, opened one of his eyes and glanced over to Wigglytuff.

"Guildmaster?"

The Guildmaster had bent over the side of the water pool and was playfully splashing water around with his paw, completely ignoring what Chatot said. Their audience looked at Wigglytuff, then back at Chatot. Panicking, the bird rushed over the Guildmaster's side and hurriedly prodded the pink Pokémon with his beak.

"G – Guildmaster...!" he hissed in Wigglytuff's ear.

"What is it Chatot?" Guildmaster Wigglytuff said innocently, "Did you want to take a bath?"

Corphish and Loudred both snickered at the Guildmaster's words while the multicolored bird blushed furiously. He rapped Wigglytuff on the foot with his beak angrily, making the chubby Pokémon squeak in pain.

"Guildmaster!" Chatot hissed indignantly, "We were supposed to act this out, or have you forgotten?"

"Act...?" The Guildmaster held his paw up to his chin and pondered the bird's words for a moment. Then, as if a balloon had just popped inside his head, he suddenly clapped his paws together and smiled widely.

"Oh right! We were supposed to trick Blue and Fée into asking us about the Panacea by pretending that we didn't know what it was!" He turned to an aghast – looking Chatot with a proud expression on his face, "But the truth is, we know everything there is to know about the legendary medicine! Isn't that right, Chatot?"

Chatot smacked his face with his wing.


	17. The great explorer, Dusknoir

**• ****  
Chapter 16:**

**"The great explorer, Dusknoir"**

"The Legendary Panacea Elixir... exists?"

Chimecho spoke with a hushed whisper, her expression was that of shock and disbelief. Everybody stared expectantly at Guildmaster Wigglytuff, waiting with bated breath for the smiling Pokémon to answer one way or another. Seconds passed into minutes as Guildmaster Wigglytuff fell into an odd silence. Sweat dripped down Loudred's back while Corphish and Sunflora both took a deep gulp.

Blue frowned and folded his arms impatiently while Fée wore a worried look on her face. Chimecho continued to look indignant.

"Does it exist...?" Guildmaster Wigglytuff finally spoke. He held a pink paw up to the bottom of his mouth and tilted his head, making his long ears flop to the side. He closed his eyes and made a deep _hmmm_ing noise, indicating that he was in deep thought.

Eventually, after a few more seconds of waiting, Guildmaster Wigglytuff opened his eyes and smiled even wider as he cheerfully announced, "Of course it does!"

He held up a paw to a stunned – looking Chimecho, "We live in a wonderful world of adventure and mystery! Something as fantastical as an all – curing medicine definitely exists!"

"B – b – but...!" Chimecho stuttered, sounding outraged and skeptical, "There's no basis for such a thing to exist! If it did exist, then why do we bother with medicines?"

Everybody turned toward to Guildmaster Wigglytuff now, waiting for his response. The Guildmaster folded his arms across his chest and closed his big eyes. To everybody, he looked like he was deep in thought.

For about three seconds.

"I dunno!" Guildmaster Wigglytuff shouted as he opened his eyes wide and beamed, making Chimecho gape at him in disbelief. The Guildmaster bounced up and down gleefully as he clapped his paws together, "But, what I do know is that the Panacea does exist somewhere in the frontier!"

The wind chime Pokémon shook her head, "But where's the proof, Guildmaster?" She swooped over to Guildmaster Wigglytuff's side and said, "I'm sorry if I'm being discourteous to you, but I can't for the life of me believe that an all – curing medicine exists!"

"But it does...!" Guildmaster Wigglytuff pouted, puffing his cheeks out like a child, "I know it exists!"

"But where's the proof?" Chimecho cried out, "I want to see such a miraculous thing with my own eyes!"

"Ahem..." Everyone turned their heads toward Chatot, who recovered from his earlier embarrassment. The multi – colored bird walked up to Chimecho and said, "Chimecho, if you require proof that it exists, why not go forth and find it yourself?"

"Eh?" Chimecho's mouth hung open as she gaped at Chatot. The bird covered his face with his wing and chuckled.

"You are an apprentice explorer, are you not? The only way for you to truly know if something legendary or mystical truly exists... or not, is by finding it and verifying it with your own eyes!"

"Mmhm!" Guildmaster Wigglytuff bounced up and nodded fervently. He raise up his right paw and pointed to the ceiling, "We're explorers! Finding legendary or mystical things is our specialty!"

"Yeah!" Loudred agreed with a bellow, making everybody to flinch from the noise, "Guildmaster and Chatot's right! There's no reason for us to sit here and debate whether or not this stupid medicine exists like a bunch of old fogeys!"

The boisterous Pokémon pounded his palm with his fist, making a low booming noise, "We're explorers! We should be going out and finding this p... pan... panga... medicine for Blue!"

"Panacea," Sunflora corrected him with a nod. She turned toward Guildmaster Wigglytuff and appealed, "I agree with Loudred, Guildmaster. If you say that the Panacea exists, then please allow us to go on an expedition to find it!"

"Hey, hey!" Corphish gleefully jumped into the air, scuttling his little legs while snapping his pincers at the air, "If you're all going out to find the Panacea, then count me in too!"

Corphish ran in between everybody and held up his pincer. Loudred chuckled and placed his hand on top of the lobster's pincer. Sunflora joined them afterward with a gleeful little giggle. The three of them turned their heads toward Chimecho and grinned.

"Come on Chimecho!" Sunflora urged the hesitant wind chime, "It'll be fun!"

"And," Loudred added, "you can prove to us whether or not this pa... medicine exists!"

"Ergh..." Chimecho grumbled as she glanced over to Guildmaster Wigglytuff and Chatot. The two of them also smiled back at the wind chime and nodded. Feeling as though she was fighting a losing battle, Chimecho sighed and reluctantly joined the group. She placed her ribbon on top of Sunflora's leaf.

"Alright, fine. You guys win," She said, making the group break out in victorious cheers, "but!" She raised and pointed her ribbon over to Loudred and Corphish, "If it turns out that this Panacea doesn't exist, then I'm going to punish you two severely."

Loudred and Corphish blanched at the little wind chime's innocent smile. They glanced nervously at each other, both of them breaking out in cold sweat. Hesitantly, they nodded at Chimecho, agreeing to her evil plan.

"Hee hee..." She giggled softly, making the Loudred and Corphish duo shudder involuntarily. Sunflora, ignoring the plight of her two comrades, turned toward Blue and Fée.

"Don't just sit there, you two!" She said, beckoning them over, "You're both explorers too!"

Fée looked surprised. She looked over to Blue, who was watching the scene unfold with an amused expression on his face. He turned toward the Eevee and grinned.

"How about it, Fée?" He said as he patted her on the head, "You want to go out on an expedition to find a cure for my leg?"

Fée smiled and gently nudged him on the chest, "You dummy. How can I say no to something like that?"

She stood up and walked up to the group and placed her paw on Chimecho's ribbon. Then, as she turned around to look at Blue, the Riolu walked past her and fluffed the fur on top of her head with his paw as he placed his other paw on top of hers. They smiled at each other before turning to face the rest of the group.

"Alright then!" Loudred announced in his usual bombastic voice, "Our goal for the day is to find the medicine for Blue's leg! Is everyone okay with that?"

"Yeah!"

Hands, leaves, ribbons, pincers and paws flew up into the air as everyone shouted energetically.

"Good, good!" Chatot clapped his wings together as he watched the group cheer together, "It's nice to see you all working together so enthusiastically!"

"Enthusiastic friends! Yay!" Guildmaster Wigglytuff gleefully clapped his paws together, mimicking the bird.

"However!" Chatot suddenly flew up and landed in between the group. He held up a wing and began to separate everybody, "As much as I hate to ruin what would most likely be a glorious cooperative effort from all of you," Chatot stated in a pompous voice, "I am sad to inform you that every single one of you, apart from Blue and Fée, are barred from helping them find the Panacea Elixir."

"Eh!?" A loud, shocked cry erupted from the group.

"But, why?" Loudred shouted in indignation, "We were all ready to go and help Blue find the cure for his leg! You can't just ban us from helping them out!"

"Hey, hey, that's right!" Corphish slammed his pincers together, "Are you saying that we should just let Blue's leg rot and fall off?!"

"Corphish! That was tactless!" Sunflora chided the lobster Pokémon.

"Oh, err..." Corphish glanced over to Blue, "S – sorry."

Blue shrugged and waved away Corphish's rude comment with his paw.

"Now, now," Chatot said, trying to pacify the growing resentment in the group, "allow me to explain."

He gestured toward Fée and Blue, "As I am sure you all already know, these two are brand new apprentices here in the guild. Therefore, I am going to consider this upcoming search for the Panacea Elixir as their introductory training mission."

Everybody suddenly blanched at what Chatot said. Loudred and Sunflora both shook their heads and covered their faces with their hands; Corphish began to scuttle around side by side while Chimecho began to mumble darkly about needing more medicinal berries.

"Introductory training mission?" Fée echoed the strange term, unaware of what the rest of the group was doing, "What's that?"

Chatot chuckled at the confused Eevee, "Why, it's a specialty here at Wigglytuff's Guild, Fée." He gestured toward the other explorers around her and said, "Consider it a special service."

"You see, unlike other guilds, we do not provide you with an experienced guide during your first expedition. Instead, we expect you to go through your first expedition on your own and learn from experience!"

"E...eh?!" Fée looked startled, "B – but, who will teach us the basics of exploring then?"

"Basics?" Chatot echoed, "Why, there is no need for you to be worried about such a thing," The bird pointed at the other apprentices with his wing and stated, "everyone else here all learned their skills on their own, without anybody holding their hands through the process."

The Eevee glanced over to the group for confirmation. Loudred, Sunflora, Chimecho and Corphish all nodded, although hesitantly, at Chatot's words.

"Don't fret, Fée!" Chatot said in a jovial voice as he patted her head with his wing, "Unlike the rest of them, you joined the guild with a friend! Therefore, I'll allow you the privilege to begin your training with Blue by your side."

He fluttered over to Blue's side and extended his wings out to the Riolu, who looked confused about what was going on.

"Hold on Chatot," Chimecho cut in, flying over to Blue's other side, "I can't accept your decision there!"

"What do you mean, Chimecho?"

Chimecho jabbed her ribbon at Blue's leg, "Blue is injured, he should be resting instead of exhausting his leg even more!"

"Hm," Chatot walked over to Blue and surveyed his leg. After giving it a thorough examination, Chatot moved back and stated, "I don't see any problem with this. It shouldn't be a problem."

"What?!" Chimecho looked aghast at the bird. Chatot ignored her appalled glare and rounded over to Blue.

"I'm sure Blue would agree with me when I say that such a wound means nothing to such a tough Pokémon like him, am I wrong?"

Blue glanced up at the bird, who was wearing a knowing expression on his face. He mulled over his options for a moment, nod and go with Fée on an adventure, or shake his head and stay in the guild, monitored by Chimecho. He could feel the wind chime's glare searing into the back of his head as he considered his choices.

"I'll go, I have no objections." He stood up and patted his chest.

Chimecho groaned and slapped her face with her ribbon while Chatot clapped his wings together with great enthusiasm.

"Good, good! Very good!" Chatot flew away from Blue and landed by Wigglytuff's side. He pointed at the door to their office, "Well then, if the two of you would kindly follow us to our office. We'll tell you the details of your first expedition there."

"So exciting!" Wigglytuff squealed as he skipped toward his own office. Chatot quickly followed behind him, whistling a jaunty tune as he flew through the cavern.

"That stinks!" Loudred grumbled as he flopped onto the grass. He leaned the side of his head against his fist as he sent an indignant glare at the door to the Guildmaster's Office, "I was getting all excited to find that stupid elixir too!"

"It can't be helped," Sunflora mumbled as she shrugged in defeat, "we went through the same thing too when we first joined."

Fée gave Sunflora a nervous glance, "What... what does this training mission thing entail, Sunflora?"

"Ooh..." Sunflora held her leaves up to the side of her head, shivering a little, "it's different for everyone, but it's basically your very first expedition, Fée."

"But... it's easier, right?" Fée asked, her face displaying a nervous smile, "I mean... I read about some guilds sending new apprentices to close by, safe places while accompanied by an experienced explorer for their first expedition."

To her great dismay, everyone shook their heads vehemently.

"I wish it was easier!" Sunflora cried out, covering her face with her leaves, "I – I remember when Chatot sent me on my first expedition... it was to the Northern Desert!" She shuddered fearfully as she remembered the harrowing experience, "It was so hot... and so dry... that I felt like I was going to wilt!"

"For me, the Guildmaster told me to go to Amp Plains," Corphish grumbled as he laid his pincers on the grass, "I couldn't feel my pincers for weeks after I came back from that electrifying nightmare..."

"I had the misfortune of joining during the rainy season..." Chimecho covered her face with her ribbon, "I never want to visit Drenched Bluff again after being swept all over the place by the water..."

Only Loudred wasn't affected by the doom – and – gloom. Instead, he had laid down on the grass and was waving his hand around in a dismissive fashion, "You're all wusses! I didn't have a single problem with my first expedition at all! Ha, ha!"

Corphish scowled at the laughing Loudred, "That's because you got lucky and ran into another group of explorers during your first expedition!" He clacked his pincers at him, "If they hadn't shared their rations with you, you would've been running home begging for food!"

"I still passed my test though! Ha!" Loudred grinned, unfazed by Corphish's irritated accusation.

"E – either way," Sunflora hurried over to Fée and Blue and shoved them toward the Guildmaster's office, "you shouldn't keep them waiting, ooh... this is so nerve – wracking!"

"H – hey, Sunflora, wait...!" Fée tried to protest, but Sunflora just gave her a quick push on the rump and shoved her through the door.

* * *

Once again, I found myself standing inside of the Guildmaster's messy office. After dropping us inside the door, Sunflora gave Blue an I an encouraging wink and quickly ducked out of the room.

Wigglytuff and Chatot were huddled over the desk. They looked like they were discussing something important with each other. The two of them looked like they haven't noticed us yet. I thought about saying something to announce our presence, but I felt a little hesitant doing so.

My first expedition... I didn't think it would come so soon. Well, technically speaking, I suppose it would be my second. I glanced over to Blue, who was distracted by the piles of junk strewn all around us. The adventure we had in the Beach Cave was my first ever foray into the world of exploration, and... well, it was fun.

But at the same time, it was also incredibly dangerous. Ever since we exited the Beach Cave, Blue was suffering from that one terrible bite on his leg. I looked down at my paws. If I had just been a little braver, he wouldn't have been hurt for my sake. I could've fought off that swarm of Kabuto alongside him instead of needing him to save me.

I don't want to be the same, cowardly Fée. I'm going to get braver, and I'm going to become a real explorer like I've always dreamed of!

"Guildmaster! Chatot!" I announced in a loud and confident voice, "Blue and I have arrived!"

"Ho ho!" Chatot looked a little startled, but he and Wigglytuff both had big smiles on their faces, "Good, good! I'm glad to see the both of you haven't ran away like the rest!"

"Ran away?" I asked, puzzled by what he said.

Chatot just shook his head and waved away my question with his wing.

"Nothing for you to worry your furry little head about, Fée. Now, would the both of you please come over here? There's something we need to discuss with you two about your expedition."

"Is this about the Panacea?" Blue asked as we made our way over to the desk, making sure to avoid all the junk that was scattered all over the place.

"Of course it is," Chatot nodded, "now, come closer. What I am about to tell you next is a very, very important secret."

"A secret?" The idea of being told a secret piqued my interest. I leaned my head over the desk, pointing my ear at Chatot's beak.

"Ho ho, I see you're eager!" Chatot chuckled, "However, there is something important I must tell you before I divulge this secret."

"What is it?"

Chatot cleared his throat and lowered his voice as he leaned in closer, "I must ask the two of you to keep the details of your expedition to yourself. You cannot tell anyone, no one at all, about what you see or what you've heard about on your expedition."

"Not even to Loudred or Sunflora?"

Chatot nodded, "That's right. Not even to Loudred or Sunflora."

"This must be something really important then," Blue remarked as he folded his arms across his chest, "is the Panacea really that secretive?"

Guildmaster Wigglytuff grinned and bent down below the desk. When he came back up, he was holding onto another one of his favorite shiny apples. He placed it on top of the desk and spun it like a top.

"Yep! It's super secrety!" He said as he watched the apple spin around, "We've already found the Panacea before, you see!"

"Mmhm, that is correct," Chatot concurred as he stopped the spinning apple with his talons, "however, we were sworn to never reveal the location of the Panacea Elixir unless we had a good reason."

"And curing a friend's injury is a good reason!" Wigglytuff cheered as he plucked the apple out of Chatot's grip.

"Yes, I believe so too," the bird turned toward Blue and Fée, a serious expression on his face, "which is why we decided to entrust you two with this incredibly important information."

"I – I'm honored, Chatot!" I stuttered nervously, "I promise that I wont tell anyone about this secret! Not even to Blue!"

"I'm right here, Fée," Blue chuckled as he shook his head.

I blushed, "O – oh, of course! That's not what I meant, I mean..."

Feeling stupid, I covered my face with my paws and ducked underneath the desk. I heard Blue and the Guildmaster laugh loudly while Chatot coughed.

"Well... you seem earnest and trustworthy enough," I heard Chatot say as I rose back up from beneath the desk.

Chatot reached inside his wing with his beak and withdrew a small, oblong envelope. He placed it on the desk and slid it to us with his feet. I stared at it curiously as Blue picked it up.

"What's this?" Blue said as he flipped the envelope around. There was some small writing on the surface of the white envelope. I couldn't quite make out what it said from where I was standing, but it looked like it was an address.

"There's a certain Pokémon in Treasure Town that knows the exact location of the Panacea," Chatot explained, "I would like you to deliver that letter to this Pokémon."

"Deliver...?" Blue's eyes narrowed as he looked away from the letter and at Chatot, "Don't you know where it is already? Why can't you just tell us?"

Blue had a point. Judging from what the two of them had said, they should already know the location of the Panacea. Having us seek out another Pokémon to find out where it's located seemed like a waste of time to me.

"Ho ho, you think we were going to make it that easy for you two?" Chatot had a devious look in his eye as he chuckled, "Consider this a part of your expedition. It pays to prepare before you make a journey, of course."

"Yep! Besides, it would be no fun if we just went and told you that the Panacea was inside the Forl – beh!"

Both Blue's ears and mine perked up. Did Guildmaster Wigglytuff almost tell us where the Panacea was? Unfortunately, Chatot had slapped his wing over the excitable Guildmaster's mouth before he managed to say the entire thing. Chatot glared angrily at Wigglytuff before trying to shoo us out of the room with his other wing.

"I – Ignore what the Guildmaster just said! The Pokémon you two are looking for is called Duskull. He should be in town somewhere right now, so go and find him and deliver that letter! You may leave!"

Sensing danger, I tugged at Blue's arm with my mouth and gestured toward the door. I bowed at Chatot and the Guildmaster before quickly turning around and sprinting toward the exit. From behind me, I could hear angry yelling and happy giggling.

* * *

As soon as Blue and I exited the office, we were immediately surrounded by our guildmates. Sunflora, Loudred, Corphish and Chimecho all began to bombard Blue and I with questions about what transpired inside the office.

"Hey! Hey! Where did the boss send you guys off to?"

"Is it an awful place? Oooh, I'd hate it if you guys had to go to to the desert too!"

"If that's the case, I must pack you some Rawst Berries! Unless you're heading to somewhere cold, in which case I'm sorry to say that we are out of Aspears."

"Calm down you guys, let the kids speak!"

Feeling a little overwhelmed, I took a step back and quickly bowed to them as an apology.

"Sorry!" I said, my face against the grass, "But I'm not allowed to tell you guys about where we're going! They made us promise to keep it a secret from everyone!"

I watched as they all seemed to wilt in disappointment. I felt a little bad, they probably really wanted to help us with our expedition. Loudred recovered first and put a big grin on his face as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Well that's a shame, but that's just how it is!" He roared with laughter, forcing everyone to wince again as he gave Blue's back a jovial slap, "You two will tell us everything that happened when you come back, right?"

"O – of course we will!" I shouted, my ears still ringing from his loud outburst, "At least, as much as we're allowed to by Chatot and the Guildmaster."

"Oooh, I can't wait!" Sunflora squealed and raised up both of her leaves. Sensing danger, I immediately ducked behind Blue and peered out from behind him at Sunflora warily.

"Hey, hey! She's used to your tricks now, Sunflora!" Corphish snickered as Sunflora's arms and head drooped down in disappointment. Chimecho hovered over to Blue and shoved something small and white into his paws. I peeked under his arm and saw that it was a small packet of berries.

"You make sure you keep your body safe and healthy, alright?" Chimecho said in a stern voice. She patted the packet of berries in his paw with her ribbon with a scowl on her face, "If I had my way, I would have you psychically tied down to a bed with your leg bound in a cast until we find a way to cure it without this... Panacea..." She paused and sighed in an irritated way, "but I can't go against what Chatot and the Guildmaster wants. So in place of a good night's sleep, I want you to take one of these Pecha Berries every time your leg starts to feel uncomfortable, alright?"

Blue held up the packet of pink Pecha Berries and grinned, "Thanks Chimecho, I'll take good care of these."

"And Fée!" I jumped with a start as Chimecho addressed me. She jabbed her ribbon at me and said, "You make sure he doesn't get into any trouble, alright? No roughhousing or fighting, no long distance running or long jumping. Otherwise I might have to bind you up alongside Blue as a punishment!"

"I – I'll try!" I gave her a frantic nod. The thought of being punished by Chimecho was triggering a sense of terror inside of me, which seemed to be shared by everyone else, since I wasn't the only one shuddering in fear.

"Good. I'll see you two back by tonight then." On that lofty note, Chimecho turned around and floated away and into the hallways. Once the wind chime vanished, everyone released a great sigh of relief.

"Is she always that... extreme?" I asked quietly, afraid that she might hear me, "She didn't seem that way when I first met her..."

Sunflora shrugged and said, "She's a really nice girl usually, but if you flick her doctor switch, she gets really scary!"

"Nice girl...? I don't think I've ever seen that side of her before," Corphish mumbled sarcastically, only to get a leaf slapped against his back as a response, "Gyeeh!"

"Anyway, you two are going to go on your expedition immediately, aren't you?" Sunflora said with a smile. She held out her leaf to me and gestured at the bags around my neck. "Here, why don't you give me that cute pink bag of yours?"

"Huh?"

"I'll keep it safe in your room," she explained, "it'll be there safe and sound until you come home."

That word seemed to echo around inside my head. As I stared at Sunflora, a warm feeling began to rise up inside my chest. I sat down and clutched the strap of my pink bag with my paws, slowly mulling over what she said as I took it off.

"You mean... I can stay here?" I asked in a quiet voice. I could see Sunflora and Loudred staring at me curiously. I guess my question must've seemed odd to them, as they turned toward each other with confused expressions.

"Of course you can stay here, Fée," Sunflora said gently. She took the bag out of my paws and put it around her own neck. I looked up at the flowery Pokémon and saw her bright smile. Sunflora held out her leaves to her side, "you, and Blue as well, can stay here for as long as you like. This is our home, and it's yours as well!"

A wave of emotion flooded through me when I heard that. I wiped my eyes and slowly walked up to Sunflora.

"Thank you, Sunflora," I reached out and pulled Sunflora into an affectionate hug. She looked surprised, considering that it was me who initiated the embrace for once, but she recovered and gently hugged me back.

While still embracing Sunflora, I took the chance to look around the cavern. Soft, green grass covered the floor while bright and warm sunlight streamed through the windows. A beautiful sparkling waterfall spilled down from the ceiling and into a crystal - clear pool of water. Furthermore, all sorts of friendly Pokémon stayed here as well, calling this place their home.

And now, I had a home as well.

* * *

"Everyone was so nice and helpful, weren't they, Blue?"

I skipped across the top of the plateau above my home. When I reached the top of the staircase, I turned around and gave Blue a happy smile. From behind him, I could see the hidden staircase slowly rebuilding itself from inside the tent.

"Yeah, they were all great Pokémon," Blue grinned as he fluffed the fur on my head, "I'd rather steer clear of that Chimecho though. Getting carried in the air like that was a pretty awful experience."

"Hee hee!" I circled around him, whapping him playfully with my tail, "It's your fault for hiding in the water!"

Blue reached down and snagged me on the back of my ruff and began to ruffle my fur in revenge, "Hey, I was tossed into the pool by Loudred. Besides, how was I supposed to know she had psychic powers like Drowzee?"

"I didn't know either!" I retorted as I flattened myself against the ground to escape his paws, "When I first met her, she was really nice and friendly!"

"Could'a fooled me," Blue shrugged as he bent down and helped me back onto my feet. He dusted off my fur for me and smiled, "well, I guess I can't complain too much. She did tell me exactly what's wrong with my leg, and gave me this stuff."

He reached inside the Explorer's Pack at his side and pulled out the packet of Pecha Berries that Chimecho gave him. I watched him as he pulled out a pink, heart – shaped berry from the pack and popped it into his mouth.

"Mm..." he made a thoughtful noise as he chewed the Pecha Berry. After a moment, he swallowed it and licked his lips, "It's pretty sweet. I think I'm going to like these berries."

"You're supposed to eat them when your leg hurts, Blue," I jumped up and confiscated the packet from him before he ate another one, "Pecha Berries contain a special juice that acts as an antidote against most poisons."

I ignored his pouting face as I stuck the packet into my own Explorer's Pack, "It's not as effective as say, a Lum Berry, but Pechas are usually easier to find out in the frontier."

"Lum... Pecha..." Blue rubbed his face as he contemplated my words, "are there any other kind of berries out there?"

"Of course they are!"

I began to list out the various kinds of berries out there in the world as we descended the massive stone staircase that would take us down from the plateau to the town. Blue listened to me attentively as I enthusiastically described to him how some berries have medicinal uses, how some can be used as paints or glues, or how some berries were only good for eating.

"Really? So how does it taste like?"

Every time I listed out a berry you could eat, he would always ask me how it tasted.

"I don't know, I've never tried one before." Was my typical response. I've never really ventured outside my comfort zone of berries you could find and eat within Treasure Town. Usually, most restaurants around here base their meals around a few different types of berry. Of course, apples were commonly used too, but it's the berries that the restaurant picks that sets them all apart from each other.

"Some places serve rare berries like Starf Berries or Lansat berries," I explained to Blue, "but those places are usually really expensive." I shook my head, "I'm not really that rich, so I can only really dream about eating at places that serve berries other than Oran or Leppa."

"Hm, that's a shame," Blue mumbled as I helped him down the last step of the stone staircase, "well, you said explorers make money, right?"

I nodded, "That's right," I pointed toward the cliff wall that the staircase was built into. There were two large, wooden signs embedded on the rock. Both of the signs had layers upon layers of paper stuck on them to the point that they looked like patchwork curtains.

"You see, some townsfolk around here tend to leave requests for explorers to do for them," I looked at one of the requests stuck up on the sign and read it out loud, "'I'm looking for an experienced explorer to take me up to the top of Mount Bristle! I want to see the wonderful sunset at the top of the highest mountain in the frontier!' and the client is offering around... wow! 6,000 Poké!"

"Is that a lot?" Blue was staring at the paper with an intense gaze.

"Yeah, it is!" I replied, "That much money can get you into one of those expensive restaurants I was talking about earlier! Maybe even two!"

"Huh..." Blue made an odd sound and mumbled under his breath, "...maybe I should've kept some... if it meant being able to eat at a good place..."

"Hm?" I didn't quite hear what he said, "Can you repeat that?"

Blue snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head, "No, it's nothing." He patted the ribbon on my right ear and turned away from the sign. I gave him a confused glance, but he just shook his head again and walked away from the wall. I followed after him, still feeling a little confused.

* * *

Even now, the town was still bustling with activity. The gigantic wave of immigrants from yesterday seemed to have bolstered the population of the town. Everywhere we looked, there was at least a crowd of Pokémon wandering or just standing around. Bubbles containing lively conversation and chatter floated up into the air as we strolled through the packed streets. I stuck closely to Blue as I didn't want to repeat yesterday's incident and get separated again.

"Is Treasure Town usually this lively?" Blue remarked as we passed by a group of Cherrim and Flabébé singing a merry little tune at the side of the street.

"Well, it's not usually this packed," I replied as I glanced back at the flowery choir, "but it's usually pretty loud and lively like this all the time."

Feeling cheerful for no real reason, I pranced over in front of Blue and smiled at him, "It's wonderful like that. I love it when the town is filled with happiness and cheer everyday!"

Blue just grinned and nodded at me. He walked over to my side and fluffed the fur on top of my head again, making me feel a little abashed.

The loud roar of water spilling greeted us as we reached the main plaza. The Founder's Fountain was surrounded by Pokémon, mostly those that preferred being in or near the water. Blue and I stopped by the side of the fountain and sat down next to the pool. I noticed that Blue was staring at the statues in the center of the fountain with a curious look in his eye.

"I told you about how Treasure Town was founded by a group of explorers, right?" I said, grabbing his attention. I pointed at the statues with my paw and began to explain, "The Founder's Fountain was named such since the Pokémon who made it based the statues off those explorers who first built the town."

"Oh...?" Blue looked up at the statues again and rubbed his chin. I nodded and began to list off the names of all the founders.

"Let's see... there's the strong, but gentle Golurk," I pointed at the huge, strong – looking Pokémon in the center, "I heard that Golurk singlehandedly carried all the building materials from the forest below and up onto the great plateau so they could start construction on Treasure Town."

I moved my paw over to the strange, bird – like statue hovering above Golurk, "That's Sigilyph. Sigilyph was the one who found the great plateau with his mysterious powers when the group was lost in the frontier."

Then, I gestured toward the large, shelled Pokémon standing beneath Golurk and Sigilyph, "And over there's Torkoal. When the group of them finally reached the great plateau, it was he who suggested that they build the outpost for them to use, as well as other explorers in the future."

"They all sound like really incredible Pokémon," Blue commented. His eyes drifted to the side, where one more statue stood behind the rest. He pointed his paw at the last statue and asked, "What about that guy? What's his story?"

"That's the great explorer, Dusknoir!" I said with a wide smile and a prideful voice, "He's legendary for being _the _most successful solo explorer in all the land!" I ran up to the Great Dusknoir's statue and looked up at it. The statue had an awesome, regal look to it. With Dusknoir's single eye and magnificent collar being expertly carved out of smooth, gray granite.

I turned back to Blue with a certain enthusiasm in my voice and said, "It was Dusknoir who first gathered the founder group and suggested that they explore past the Mount Horn mountain range. It was Dusknoir who discovered thee vast frontier lying beyond the mountains, and it was Dusknoir who paved the path for explorers of all kinds to seek out their dreams here, in Treasure Town!"

"You're pretty knowledgeable about this Dusknoir guy, aren't you, Fée?" Blue remarked with an amused grin on his face. I blushed and looked away from Blue and the statue.

"W – well..." I stammered, "It's always been my dream to become an explorer... and I guess you could say I've always looked up to the Great Dusknoir as kind of a role model."

I turned back to the statue and gave a longing stare into the Great Dusknoir's single eye, "Since I was a little kid, I spent all my days huddled inside a cozy little corner at Mr. Mime's library, read every single book that the Great Dusknoir published." I felt a small smile on my face as I reminisced about my childhood, "I would immerse myself in his stories, and I would pretend that I was just as great of an explorer as Dusknoir."

I gave Blue a shy smile, "You could say it was because of the Great Dusknoir that I became so obsessed with becoming an explorer, hehe..."

Blushing, I reached back with my paw and scratched my head. It was so embarrassing to think about how much of a shut – in I was when I was young.

"Well, you're one step closer to your dream now, aren't you?" I felt Blue tweak my right ear with his paw. I looked up from my paws and saw him grinning at me, "All you have to do now is work hard until you become just as good – no, even better than that Dusknoir guy."

"N – no!" I rejected what he said as I shook my head vehemently, "I can't be better than the Great Dusknoir! That... that's impossible! No, I don't even want to think about that!"

"Why not?" Blue asked, looking surprised, "What has he done that you can't?"

"J – just about everything! He was the one who first found the frontier, first of all. And not to mention, he pretty much explored everything on his own even before that!" I found myself getting breathless as I recited all of Dusknoir's accomplishments from memory, "He's also really, really wise! He's an accomplished scholar and philosopher who wrote hundreds of books about the nature of the world and Pokémon! Not only that, but he's super strong too!"

I pointed at the statue of Dusknoir and said in a loud voice, "I remember reading in one of his books that he once managed to calm an entire herd of rampaging Tauros on his own! An entire herd!"

Blue snorted, "I'll believe it when I see it," I stared at him with my mouth wide open in astonishment as he continued, "As far as I can see, he's just a guy who wrote a lot of books. Once I see him in action, then I'll believe everything he says."

"B – Blue...!" I spluttered at his dismissiveness. How can he say such things about Dusknoir like that? I batted away his paw and glared angrily at him, "I can't accept you demeaning the Great Dusknoir like that! He's an important part of Treasure Town history, and one of my most revered role models! I won't allow you to say anything bad about him!"

"Woah," He took a step back, looking surprised, "I – I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, Fée, honest."

I sighed as I watched him nervously back up another step. I shook my head dejectedly and calmed myself down.

"No, I'm sorry for snapping at you Blue," I saw him sigh in relief. I glanced over to the Dusknoir statue once more and said, "It's just... I respect the Great Dusknoir, a lot. Like I said, he was the reason why I wanted to become an explorer in the first place, Blue. That's why I don't really like it when people insult or demean him."

Blue sheepishly scratched his nose as he walked back up to my side, "Have you ever met this Dusknoir guy – sorry, the Great Dusknoir."

I took my angry glare off of him and shook my head, "No, I've never met him before." I dipped my paws into the cool fountain water and sighed, "The Great Dusknoir wouldn't want to meet someone like me anyway. I'm just a nobody who just became an explorer."

"Fée..."

"But, if I could meet the Great Dusknoir..." I turned to Blue and smiled widely. Suddenly, I felt a strange urge come up inside me as I began to imagine actually meeting the great Dusknoir.

"If I could meet the great Dusknoir," I spun around and snagged onto my new Explorer's Pack with my paws, "I definitely want his autograph! Do you think he'd rather autograph my Explorer's Pack or my pink bag? Oh no, but if I want him to sign my pink bag, I need to fix it first... It looks too rubbishy for him to sign."

"Fée...?" Blue looked a little taken aback by my sudden change in demeanor.

I shook my head and held my paw under my chin, pondering, "Hm... no, maybe it's too lame if I just have him sign my bags." I clapped my paws together and thought of something, "What if I went out and bought a copy of his book at Kecleon's and have him sign that instead? Oooh, now that's an idea! I'll have him sign a copy of 'Dusknoir's Travels,' that'll show him that I'm a big fan of his and show him how much I love exploring!"

My eyes were positively glittering with excitement as I imagined meeting my idol in person. I cuddled my new Explorer's Pack as I continued to ramble on and on about what I could do if I actually did meet the Great Dusknoir.

"Fée..." I heard Blue sigh in exasperation before I launched into another what if situation.

* * *

"Did you get all of that out of your system now?" Blue remarked with a grin as we walked away from the Founder's Fountain, and in turn, away from the Main Plaza. My ears were covering my eyes while we walked, and I was relying on Blue's paw on my back to guide me around.

As for why I was doing something so strange, it was because I really, really wanted to just run off and dig a hole for myself somewhere far away and just sit in it until this burning shame inside of me peters out. I can't believe I ended up losing control of myself like that, and in public no less. I grumbled and strained to lower my ears even further down my face. I didn't want to see anyone, and I didn't want anyone to see me.

I heard Blue chuckle in amusement beside me as we continued to walk down the street. I grumbled again. At least somebody was having fun at my expense.

"So Guildmaster Wigglytuff and Chatot wanted us to find this Duskull guy, right?" I heard Blue say, followed by the sound of paper rustling. He must be taking out the letter that Chatot handed us.

"Mmhhh..." I replied with a low, confirming mumble. I heard another amused chuckle from the Riolu again.

"You know, if you keep covering your eyes like that, we're never going to get anywhere," he remarked. I felt a twinge of annoyance inside me.

"I'll open my eyes when completely forget about what just happened," I shot back.

Blue let out a bark – like laugh and patted me on the back, making me grumble irritatedly even more.

"Well, maybe you'll forget a few things if I throw you in the ocean, Fée," Blue joked, "who knows, if it worked for me, it might work for you!"

I shook my head and raised up my right ear to peer at Blue. He was grinning his usual dumb grin and looking completely carefree and casual. I sighed and shook my head again. Just how can he joke about such things so easily? Time and time again, I found myself dumbfounded by just how nonchalant my friend is. I was about to replace my ear over my eye again when he suddenly stopped and pointed at something ahead.

"Oh hey, Fée, what's that?"

My natural curiosity made both of my ears suddenly spring up, revealing my glowing red face. I glanced around quickly, wondering what Blue saw. But all I could see was the road and other Pokémon passing by. I turned toward Blue, preparing to ask him what he saw when a sudden blue blur flitted across my vision. Suddenly, I felt a heavy pressure against my cheeks.

"Eek!" I cried out of surprise. My eyes widened out of shock as I saw Blue's grinning face fill my sight. His paws surrounded my face as he pinched my cheeks. He began to wiggle them up and down playfully as I struggled to get him to let go.

"Leggo of my chweeks, Bwoo!" I blubbered at him, "Bweeeh!"

"Only if you stop covering your eyes," he said evilly as he continued to wiggle my face around as if I was a piece of dough. After struggling in vain to get loose from his grip, I sighed, gave up, and nodded. He beamed at me and finally let go of my face. I pawed my sore cheeks and sent the grinning Riolu an angry glare.

"Anyway, here you go," Blue's paw suddenly flicked up and grabbed onto something. When he lowered his arm, he was somehow holding onto the envelope that Chatot handed us. I tilted my head to the side, did he throw that important envelope up into the air as he was pinching my cheeks?!

As I was mulling over whether or not he did such an outrageous act, he shoved the envelope in front of my face.

"Can you read this, Fée?" He asked, gesturing to the words written on the paper. I glanced at the envelope, then at Blue. The writing was only a few lines, and only showed the address of the recipient. It wasn't really that difficult to read.

"Why?" I asked, tilting my head, "It's just an address, Blue."

"Oh... an address?" Blue flipped the envelope back to him and squinted his eyes. He scratched the back of his head as he read the address on the envelope. After a few seconds, he sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Blue..." A small, nagging suspicious appeared at the back of my mind as I watched him grumble over the envelope, "you... can't read?"

Blue looked up from the envelope and stared at me for a few seconds. Then, in a dejected way, he slowly shook his head. I felt my mouth hang open.

"But... you can talk! You can understand what I'm saying, right?"

Blue frowned and folded his arms, "Of course I can." He flicked the envelope in front of me indignantly, "I just can't read, that's all."

I shook my head and thought deeply about what he said. If he could speak and understand speech just fine, but he can't read or write, then wouldn't that mean he couldn't read or write since before he lost his memory? He could draw, that was something I was definitely sure of, but being unable to read or write... just what kind of life did he lead before I found him?

"Fée? Is there a problem?"

"N – no, there isn't a problem at all," I stammered, snapping myself out of my thoughts. I glanced at his paw, which was still holding the envelope.

"H – here, give it to me. I'll read it for you then." I snatched the envelope out of his grasp with my mouth. I dropped it onto my paws and flipped it over, revealing the address written on the paper. Blue sidled over to my side and glanced over my shoulder curiously.

"Um... it says that this is for Duskull, who lives at..." I paused.

"Yeah? Where is it?" Blue asked, prodding me in the back of the head.

I shook his paw off the back of my head and moved the envelope closer to my eyes. I read out the words in my head, trying to see if I had imagined it.

"'Phantom Pâtisserie?'" I spoke in an unbelieving tone.

A bakery? A phantom bakery? I looked away from the envelope, allowing my mind some time to process what I just read. Then, I looked back. Yep, there it was, written in bold, plain letters. 'Phantom Pâtisserie.'

In my mind, I conjured up a strange image of a half – transparent building, surrounded by floating gray loaves of bread. It was such an odd image that I actually felt a little strange just thinking about it. Shaking my head, I dismissed the thought of a ghostly building and looked back at the envelope at the rest of the address.

"It's... actually in town...?" I stared blankly at the words 'Treasure Town, Shopping District,' followed by a series of numbers. In all my years of living here in Treasure Town, I have not once ever heard of a place called 'Phantom Pâtisserie.' Not to mention, I have never heard anyone ever talk about such a... unique sounding bakery before.

I looked up at Blue, who was waiting for me to explain what I just said with an eager look on his face.

Um... how do I explain this to him?

'It... it looks like we're going to a ghost house."


	18. A Tantalizing Fruit

**•**

** Chapter 17:**

**"...a tantalizing fruit..."**

Now, Treasure Town was built on a great plateau; essentially it was a tall mountain with a wide, flat top. When the Founders first decided they were going to build their outpost, they decided to start far, far away from the sides of the plateau. As a result, the first part of the town built was the Main Plaza. From there, construction of the town naturally splintered outward like a Spinarak spinning a web.

Dirt roads stretched out from the plaza, with buildings naturally cropping up from the ground beside them. Then, as more and more Pokémon moved into Treasure Town, more roads and buildings had to be built in order to accommodate them. Now, with all its winding roads and tall buildings, Treasure Town barely resembles its humble beginnings as a small outpost for explorers.

As for me, I began living here in Treasure Town fairly late into its history. When I first arrived, the town was already a bustling metropolis. The former dirt roads were now paved with cobblestone and soft gravel; while tall, stone or woodwork buildings rose up at its sides. Tall, metal lamps lined up at the side of the roads, casting light on the streets when night falls.

Speaking of those stone and woodwork buildings. Many of those buildings were built to house the many residents of the town; whether they be residents, visitors, or immigrants. That's not to say every building is a home though. Lots of Pokémon decided to open shops, inns, or cafes in Treasure Town; peddling their wares or offering various services to their customers.

Well, basically where I'm going with this is that Treasure Town is filled with all sorts of unique buildings and stores. There's so many different Pokémon running so many different stores that even I, for all the time I've lived here in this town, haven't been able to personally see every single one of them yet.

Which brings me to my next point. I've definitely never visited a place called "Phantom Pâtisserie" before. To be frank, with a name like that; I wouldn't have wanted to anyway.

* * *

I felt a cold chill run down my back when Blue and I finally reached the address written on the envelope. It had lead us to the extreme outskirts of the town, far away from the hustle and bustle of the town. Compared to the liveliness of the Main Plaza or the Shopping District, there were almost no Pokémon around here at all. All I could see from where I was standing was the edge of the great plateau, the sky, and a creepy little shack looming right in front of us.

"Well, here we are..."

The shack was built out of some sort of dark, almost black – colored wood. The entire thing looked old and creaky. In fact, it looked as though the entire thing was crooked. The house was leaning far to one side, looking as though it was about to topple over at any moment. The windows on the shack had no glass. Instead, the owner just decided to cover over the gaping holes with long, dust – covered curtains. Slats of wood were nailed all over the roof in a haphazard fashion to replace all the missing tiles and shingles. Overall, the entire place just screamed _HAUNTED HOUSE_ to me.

At first, I thought that we had the wrong address. However, my hopes of leaving this eerie place was dashed when Blue found a signpost stuck in the ground near the shack. Upon reading the crude writing on it, I had no choice but to accept the fact that this old, terrifying hut out in the middle of nowhere was indeed the Phantom Pâtisserie we were looking for.

"I can't imagine the owner getting a lot of customers if the building's all the way out here," Blue remarked as he examined the words on the signpost, "it took us a pretty long time to get to here from the center of town. No wonder there's no other Pokémon around."

"T – that's what you're worried about?" I stuttered back at him as I clung to his tail with my eyes squeezed shut. I was afraid that if I continued to look at the building, my legs would give out from under me out of fear.

"Well if you think about it," Blue said in a casual voice, "it would make sense to build a store nearer to where the customers would be, don't you think?"

"S – seriously?" My astonished voice was muffled as I stuck my face into his tail, "I – if that h – haunted house was anywhere closer to the ce – center of the town, t – there would be P – P – Pokémon fainting all over the place!"

Blue made a thoughtful noise and said, "Really? To me, it just looks like an old, run down building. I don't see anything haunted about it at all."

Just where does this guy get his endless supply of courage from? Someone, please tell me so I can get some as well!

"Well," Blue said, "nothing's going to happen if we just stay standing here." He shrugged and began to walk forward, "Come on Fée, let's get moving."

"H – hold on!" I tried to protest, but Blue had already begun to move toward the terrifying house. I found myself dragged against my will as I continued to cling onto his tail in a desperate attempt to stop us from getting any closer to the ghastly shack. I planted all four of my paws deep into the ground and hung onto his tail with my teeth for dear life. Despite my best attempts though, Blue was unfazed by my resistance and just continued on with his march.

"Mmmphh!" I shouted through a mouthful of blue fur. A trail of upturned dirt stretched out behind us as I continued to anchor my paws in the dirt in a futile attempt to make him stop. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched in horror as the black – colored hut loomed closer and closer. The curtains were fluttering in the morning breeze. Every few seconds, it the wind would make a small gap between the curtain and the wall, just wide enough so that I could catch a glimpse of what was behind it.

And from that gap, I spotted a glowing eye staring right at me.

That was the last straw. I felt my blood run cold as I stared into that glowing, red orb from behind the curtains. I found myself transfixed by the eerie light behind the curtains. Then, as I tried to pull myself away from the sight, I saw a stark white skull emerge from within the darkness, encasing the glowing orb.

I released the grip I had on Blue's tail with my mouth; scattering strands of blue fur all over the place.

"Eeee..."

The last thing I heard before I blanked out was the odd noise that escaped from my throat.

* * *

"...hink she's waking up now..."

A voice from somewhere above me stirred me from my sleep. With my eyes still shut tight, I yawned and stretched my legs. I was lying on something soft and warm. It was nice and comfortable, but it only made me want to lie back down and return to sleep.

Well, maybe that's not such a bad thing. I did just have a pretty bad dream. Maybe if I go back to sleep, I'll have a nicer dream without spooky houses. I took a deep breath and curled up into a small ball.

"Hey, sleepyhead, don't go back to sleep again."

There was that voice again. This time, the voice was accompanied by something hard poking against my cheek. Annoyed, I reached up with my own paw and swatted it away. I wanted to go back to sleep, so don't annoy me!

"Fée..." I heard the voice say my name, followed by an exasperated sigh. Just out of curiosity, I peeked open one of my eyes to see who it was. Strangely though, all I could see through my half – opened eyes was a furry mass of blue.

"Hm...?" I mumbled in a drowsy daze. I prodded the strange blueness with my paw, wondering what it was. All of a sudden, a light chuckling sound came from above me. Curious, and also a little amused, I poked it again, eliciting another wave of laughs from somewhere above me.

"That tickles!" The voice said in between bouts of laughter, "Cut it out Fée, you're gonna make me spill my drink!"

Actually... now that I think about it, that voice sounds familiar. I opened up my eyes a little bit wider and tilted up my head. There, hovering above me, was Blue's laughing face. At first, I couldn't quite understand why his head was floating above me. But, as I turned my head to the left, I came in contact with the strange, blue – furred thing I was prodding. It was his chest.

"Eh...?" Feeling a little bit more awake now, my mind immediately began to process where I was. First of all, everything around us was dark and gloomy. Next, I appeared to be lying on top of Blue's lap, and finally, there was a white skull floating above us.

I stared idly at the skull for a few seconds before everything finally clicked inside my head.

"EEEEH?!"

With an echoing shriek, I sprung off Blue's lap in fear. He uttered a yelp of surprise as the rickety chair he was sitting on clattered onto the floor. The mug he was holding in his paws spun into the air, splattering onto the wooden floor.

Scared out of my wits, I darted around the dim room, looking for something to hide behind. Panting frantically, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a particularly large, ancient – looking oven standing in the corner of the room. Without any hesitation, I zipped over to the over to the oven and wedged myself between it and the wall. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping that everything would just vanish eventually.

"Sorry, I'm really sorry!" I heard Blue apologize profusely from behind my hiding spot, "Here, let me get that for you."

"Mmm... there's no need for apologies," someone else spoke in response to Blue's apology. I didn't recognize the Pokémon's voice. Swallowing my fear, I leaned out from my hiding spot to peek at who was talking. Immediately, I regretted following my curiosity.

"Mmm..." The Pokémon was hovering a few inches off the ground like a balloon. It looked like it was covered in one of the gray curtains that was hanging off the wall. But, what really made it terrifying though, was that its face resembled a stark, white skull. Furthermore, underneath that skull was a single, glowing red eye.

"Eek!" I cried out in fear again and ducked back behind the oven, hiding myself from that spooky eye. I clutched my tail between my paws and shivered fearfully. From my hiding spot, I could hear Blue sigh in exasperation.

"Fée, you don't have to be scared," I heard footsteps coming toward me as Blue spoke. I timidly opened one of my eyes and saw Blue staring at me from outside my hiding spot, an amused look on his face.

"H – how can you expect me t – to not be scared?!" I stammered back at him, "W – we're in a haunted house! The – there's even a g – g – ghost floating around!"

"Ghost...?" Blue looked confused. I saw him glance away from me, presumably at the ghost hovering back in the room. "Oh, you mean Duskull?"

"D – Duskull?"

Blue turned back to me and nodded, "Yep, that's Duskull." He extended his paw out to me and said, "He's the guy that Wigglytuff and Chatot wanted us to find."

"H – he is?!" I replied in disbelief. Blue nodded again, confirming my fears.

"Now come on, get out from behind there," Blue urged, waving his paw at me, "you're holding the letter we're supposed to be giving him, remember?"

"Ergh..." True, I did have the letter that the Guildmaster gave us still inside my bag. Inside, I knew that I had to come out eventually. Without giving that ghost... I mean, Duskull, the letter, there's no way we can continue with our expedition. A furious tug – of – war was raging on inside my heart. It was a two – way battle between my fear and my desire to continue with our objective.

"Fée?"

Blue's questioning glance made me feel uneasy. I knew that the reason we're on this expedition was to find a cure for his leg. And here, I was ruining our plans because of how scared I was of that Duskull. Was I really that big of a coward to allow Blue to continue suffering because I was scared of that Duskull?

I held up my paw to my ear and touched the ribbon Blue gave me. No, I promised him, and myself that I won't be a coward anymore. I scrunched up my face and gathered up all the courage I had inside of me. The tug – of – war continued to rage on inside me, but this time, I took the side against my fear. With a single pull, I felt my fear fall forward and melt away.

"A – alright..." I spoke in a quiet voice as I let go of my tail. I took the paw that Blue was offering and allowed him to pull me out of the gap. Dust motes burst out from behind the oven as I popped out from behind it. I coughed as the dust got into my nose and mouth.

"Mmm... much apologies," from in between coughs, I heard Duskull apologize to me. He had a deep, tired sounding voice like that of an old man, "I don't usually get many visitors, therefore, my abode may be a little bit unclean..."

"No, it's – cough! – It's fine...!" I tried to say as I tried to clear the dust from my throat, "I... I shouldn't have ran back – cough! – there in the first place...!"

"Mmm..." Duskull made a mumbling noise as he hovered toward me. I involuntarily found myself freezing in fear as the skull – like face neared my own. It took all the strength I could muster to keep myself from ducking into the dust – filled gap again.

His gray robes suddenly began to elongate, stretching itself toward me. Gulping, I squeezed my eyes shut, afraid of what might happen next. His robe touched my face, making me shudder. But, as I was beginning to imagine the worst, he suddenly began to slowly brush the dust off my fur in a gentle manner with his robe.

"Mmm... you needn't be so afraid, young one," I heard Duskull say in a soft voice. I opened my eyes as he retracted his robe away from me. I felt the fur on my face and found that he has cleaned off all the dirt and dust off.

"T... thank you," I said in a hurried voice as I bowed my head down.

"Mmm... hm, hm, hm..." Duskull appeared to chuckle at my show of gratitude. He hovered back toward the center of the room, still chuckling to himself.

Now that I was less panicked, I could fully survey the inside of the house. To my surprise, it actually did resemble the storefront of a bakery. It was a single room house, with the entire front side of the building being used as a storefront. In the center of the room was a small, round table that was surrounded by rickety chairs. Ovens, stoves and shelves lined the sides of the house, giving credence that this really was a bakery.

A single long, wooden counter stretched across the front of the store, with an equally long white tablecloth covering it. On the surface of the counter were several different kinds of pastries and bread. Curious about what kinds of bread they were, I wandered over to the counter to take a closer look. To my surprise, the pastries and bread looked amazingly delicious, despite that they were being sold inside the most horrifying – looking bakery I have ever seen.

Displayed in a neat line on the counter, there were donuts covered with a sugary glaze, fluffy loaves of bread with colorful berries embedded inside of them, small sweet puffs decorated with delectable swirls of cream, and even small confectioneries like cakes and berry candies.

"Mmm... are you hungry, by any chance...?" I jumped with a start when I heard Duskull speak from beside me. I turned around and saw the robed Pokémon reach out to the counter top and pick up a small cream puff. He withdrew a small, cute – looking plate from underneath the counter and placed the puff on top of it. Then, he turned toward me and handed it to me.

"Oh... this looks delicious!" I felt my mouth begin to water as I stared at the creamy pastry in my paws. I looked up at the ghostly Pokémon and asked, "Can I really have this?"

"Mmm... of course you can," Duskull said as he nodded, "you can consider it my apology for scaring you earlier, if you'd like."

"N – no, you don't have to apologize. If anything, I should be the one saying sorry for acting that way in your store, Mr. Duskull."

"Mmm... you needn't call me mister," Duskull chuckled in a lighthearted manner, "it makes me feel much older than I already am."

The robed Pokémon hovered over to the counter again and picked up a loaf of bread. He brought it over to Blue, who was busy picking up the chair that I accidentally knocked over earlier.

"Here Blue, you may have this," Duskull said as he offered the bread to Blue, "it's a loaf of white bread baked with a mixture of Pecha and Oran Berries. I'm sure you'll find it quite soothing."

"Thank you, Duskull," Blue said as he graciously accepted the loaf of bread from Duskull. Taking great care not to drop the pastry, I bit the plate with my teeth and brought it over to the center table. Pulling up a seat next to Blue, I sat at the table and prepared myself to eat the cream puff.

First, I leaned down and licked the cream that was spread all over the top of the puff. I felt my eyes sparkle as the delicious chocolate taste danced around the top of my tongue. It was sweet, but not too sweet. Instead, it hit the perfect balance between sweetness and bitterness, giving it an exquisitely unique taste.

"This... this is delicious!" I couldn't hold back my glee as I continued to lick the cream. I heard Duskull chuckle in response to my outburst.

I took a quick glance over to Duskull, who had floated off to one of the ovens at the side of the room. I noticed that a pleasant scent was wafting from the inside of the oven, making me wonder what he was making. Feeling a little eager, I turned back to my dessert and took a big bite out of the puff.

As soon as it entered my mouth, the bread expanded to have a delightful, fluffy texture. I clapped my paws over my cheeks as I savored the heavenly taste inside my mouth. It was sooo good!

"Mmm... it's been quite some time since I've had visitors as young as you two," Duskull said as he busied himself with the oven, "it's quite a refreshing feeling. Makes me feel as though I am a few decades younger, hm, hm, hm..."

"Mist– I mean, Duskull," I said as I swallowed the delicious puff, "how long have you been running this bakery?"

"Mmm..." Duskull made a thoughtful noise as he mulled over my question, "I believe since the earliest days of Treasure Town."

"Really?" I said with enthusiasm, "Then that means you were there when the Founders first built the town?"

"Mmm..."

I excitedly placed my paws on the table and looked at the robed Pokémon with eagerness in my eyes, "Does that mean you were an explorer as well, Duskull?"

"I am not," Duskull shook his head, making me shrink back into my seat in disappointment. He chuckled and said, "I am but a simple baker."

A short ding rang out from the oven that Duskull was using. The robed Pokémon hovered down and pulled open the door to the over. A large plume of white smoke bloomed from within the oven, enveloping the room with a wonderful aroma.

"Now, Torkoal, Golurk, Sigilyph and Dusknoir," Duskskull said as he emerged from within the cloud of smoke holding a tray of freshly – baked biscuits. He placed the tray on the table in front of us and chuckled, "never a more inspiring group of young'uns I have ever met."

"Wow..." I spoke in an admiring voice as I stared at the golden – brown biscuits on the tray, "what were the Founders like, if you don't me asking, that is."

"Mmm..." Duskull paused for a moment before shaking his head, "I'm afraid I can't quite answer your question, Fée."

"Eh? Why not?"

Duskull hovered over to the oven, which was still emitting white clouds of smoke, and shut the door. "I apologize if I made it seem a little unclear. I did not actually meet the Founders in person, however, I have indeed seen them around town back in their heyday."

"I see..."

"You're disappointed that Duskull can't tell you anything about Dusknoir, right?" Blue chuckled and tore away a chunk of bread from his loaf with his teeth. Blushing a little, I sheepishly nodded and took another bite out of my puff as well.

"Mmm... Dusknoir, hm?" Duskull conjured up another adorable little plate from underneath the counter and brought it over to the table. He began to stack the biscuits on top of the plate in a pretty little pyramid as he spoke, "I see he's still quite popular with the youth of today as well, hm, hm, hm..."

"Was he popular back then too?" I inquired.

Duskull lifted the plate of biscuits and put it on the counter next to the rest of the confectioneries and breads. He emitted another amused chuckle as he joined Blue and I at the table.

"I suppose he was," Duskull said, "just having his presence around back then was enough to bring all sorts of Pokémon over to the little shantytown they had built back then."

"Was he really that influential?" Blue asked with his mouth full, spraying breadcrumbs all over the table.

"Mmm... I would presume so," Duskull brought a small towelette over to the table and began to wipe the crumbs off, "No, perhaps it would be better to say that if it wasn't for Dusknoir, Treasure Town as it is now wouldn't have existed."

"You know," Blue said as he took the towelette from Duskull, "I saw a statue of Dusknoir back at the Main Plaza." Blue paused to wipe the crumbs off his mouth with the towelette.

"Mmm... indeed," Duskull replied, "a few years after Treasure Town became... well, a town... a group of skilled stonemasons arrived and offered to sculpt and build a fountain for the town."

"But you know, you kinda resemble that statue of Dusknoir," Blue remarked, pointing at the robed Pokémon, "maybe not exactly, but you do kinda look like him."

"Mmm... the resemblance is only superficial, I assure you." With a chuckle, Duskull took the towelette from Blue and placed it in a sink. "Though, I must admit, if I was related to the Great Dusknoir, perhaps I would have more customers... mmm..."

"Your food is great though," Blue remarked, "maybe the reason why you don't have that many customers is because your store is too far away from the Main Plaza?"

"I... don't think that's the reason why," I mumbled as I nibbled on the puff.

"Mmm... I'm sure there's a myriad of reasons why my store is so... unpopular, hm, hm, hm..."

Feeling a little abashed, I lowered my head and polished off my cream puff. Blue had a point though, the pastries that Duskull made are incredible. None of the other restaurants back in the center of the town offered anything this good! If Duskull would be willing to change how his store looked like, at least from the outside, I believe that "Phantom Patisserie" had the chance to become a really popular bakery!

"So... I believe you spoke something about a letter for me...?" Duskull turned his skull face toward me. Now that I was more used to him, I wasn't quite as afraid of his face as before.

"Oh, that's right!" I nodded at Duskull and pulled up my Explorer's Pack. After rummaging around inside the jam – packed bag for a few seconds, I withdrew the white, oblong envelope and handed it over to Duskull.

"Mmm..." Taking the letter from my paws, Duskull held it up in front of his single eye and scrutinized it. Then, he wedged his robe underneath the envelope's flap and delicately opened it up. From within the envelope, he withdrew a small sheet of paper.

"Want a piece, Fée?"

I turned around and saw Blue offering me a chunk of his berry bread. I nodded and took a small piece of the loaf from him. The bread was fluffy and warm. I could see small bits and pieces of pink Pecha and blue Oran Berries poking out from within its white interior. Popping it into my mouth, I was rewarded with a delightful mixture of sweetness and sourness. Coupled with the soft, fluffy bread, the two contrasting flavors of the berries created a really distinctive combination!

"I see... so you're looking for the Panacea, hm...?"

"Mmhm!" I nodded at Duskull while reaching over to Blue's plate and sneakily pulling away another piece of his bread. I took another bite out of Blue's bread and chewed thoughtfully, savoring the flavor.

"Would you mind telling this old man as to why you're interested in such a thing?" Duskull inquired, gazing at me with a curious look in his single eye.

I swallowed my mouthful of berry bread and pointed at Blue with my paw, "It's for him, Duskull."

"Blue?" Duskull transferred his gaze over to Blue, who was still busy stuffing his mouth with the remaining bread on his plate. His pudgy cheeks wobbled as he nodded at Duskull.

"Mmm..." Duskull hovered over to Blue's side and looked him over with his eye, "I didn't think your leg was that badly injured, Blue."

Blue took a big gulp and swallowed all of the bread that was in his mouth. Taking a deep breath, he grinned at Duskull and said, "Well, I didn't think so either at first," He lightly patted his right leg and leaned back on his chair, "but I was told that the only way it could be healed was by the use of that Panacea thing."

"He was bitten by a Kabuto a few days ago," I explained to Duskull, "his leg was poisoned by that Pokémon, and it's been hurting him ever since."

"Mmm... I see," Duskull looked down at Blue's leg, "To still be able to walk while suffering from such an ailment... you must have a strong body, or perhaps a strong will."

"Something like that, I suppose," Blue remarked casually, "I wouldn't mind being poisoned all the time if it meant I get to keep eating Pecha Berries, heh."

"Blue!" I slapped him on the paw and glared.

"It was just a joke, Fée," Blue replied with a grin as he rubbed his paw, "to be honest though, I would like to be able to go up and down stairs without needing help all the time."

He gave me a knowing grin and patted me on the head. Sighing, I shook my head and turned to look at Duskull with a pleading look in my eye.

"Please, Duskull," I said, "can you tell us where the Panacea is?"

"Mmm..." Duskull's eye seemed to dull in color as he considered what I said. After a moment of tense silence, Duskull's eye regained its regular sheen again and he said, "Fée, has your Guildmaster spoken to you about anything regarding speaking about the Panacea?"

"Um..." I thought back to what the Guildmaster and Chatot told me, "They... they said that it was a secret, and that Blue and I weren't allowed to speak anything about it to anybody."

"That is correct," Duskull nodded his head, "now, I leave you with a question for you to answer..."

The robed Pokémon moved toward the counter and took a single biscuit off the pyramid. He hovered over Blue and I, holding the biscuit in front of us. We stared curiously at the golden brown cookie, wondering what he meant by it.

"The Panacea Elixir... mmm..." Duskull placed the biscuit on top of a napkin, and then placed it in the center of the table, "indeed, it is quite a powerful medicine."

Duskull swooped over to one of the shelves and withdrew a small tin can. He began to sprinkle sparkly, sugary – smelling sprinkles over the biscuit from the can. Slowly, the biscuit began to glimmer and glisten as he continued to embellish it.

"Potent, miraculous, life – saving..." he finished garnishing the biscuit and placed the tin can on the table. He held up the cookie and presented it to us, "and most dangerous of all... rare."

"Dangerous...?" I echoed, "What do you mean by that?"

Duskull moved back to the pyramid of biscuits on the counter. He placed the single sparkling biscuit on top of the stack. It sparkled at the apex of the pyramid, standing out from the rest with the glittering bits of sugar covering it.

"It is a treasure beyond the rest. The most powerful medicine in the world." Duskull shook his head and turned to face us, "That is why it is dangerous, Fée."

"I've lived for far longer than most. Through my many years through life, I've seen many different kinds of Pokémon out there in the world." He paused to let his words sink in, "I've seen selfish Pokémon that would exploit others for their own gain. I've seen exploitative Pokémon that would abuse the needy. I've seen violent Pokémon that would force others to give them their possessions."

Duskull returned to the table and sighed heavily. He turned toward Blue and posed him a question, "Blue, for these kinds of Pokémon; how do you think they will react if they hear about a medicine that has the capability to cure anything?"

Blue covered his chin with his paw and mulled over his question.

"I would think that those Pokémon would take the Panacea for themselves," Blue answered, "they would probably all fight each other for the medicine."

"Do you think that if one of those Pokémon does obtain the Panacea, would he be willing to share it?"

Blue shook his head, "No, probably not." He held out a paw and said in a serious voice, "If that Pokémon is as greedy as you said, then he probably keep it all for himself."

"Mmm... perhaps he would."

"That Pokémon might also try to sell use of the Panacea to others," I added, making the two of them turn their heads to me, "I mean, it's like you said Duskull. That Pokémon could be exploiting the needy."

"Like... for example: That Pokémon might demand that I give him a large sum of Poké for him to cure Blue using the Panacea."

"Mmm... very astute observation, Fée," Duskull said, nodding his head. He held up the Guildmaster's letter and slid it over to us, "The both of you are very much correct in your assumptions."

"But... that's so greedy!" I said in a dejected tone as I picked up the letter, "How can someone even think about abusing others for the sake of money?"

"Alas, such Pokémon do exist in this world, Fée." Duskull spoke with a shake of his head, "For many Pokémon, the idea of an all – curing medicine is nothing more to them than a tantalizing fruit that can be sold for monetary gain."

I fell silent. A disgusting feeling was boiling down deep inside of me at the thought of Pokémon like that. I knew that selfish and mean Pokémon existed in this world; just like that Koffing and Zubat pair. I just didn't want to believe that it was the norm.

"Mmm... well, it wasn't my intention to scare you with the world of adults, hm, hm..." Duskull chuckled, snapping me out of my dark thoughts, "you two seem like a pair of nice, upstanding young'uns, however. I see no reason to believe that you two are only here to beguile an old baker such as I."

"No!" I quickly shook my head and slammed my paws on the table, making the plates jitter and shake wildly. I leaned forward and shouted, "I would never do such a thing to you, Duskull! Never!"

"Mmm..." Duskull serenely floated over the table and placed his robe on the plates, stopping the noise, "you make an old Pokémon happy to hear that, Fée."

"You can trust us, Duskull," Blue said in a confident voice. He held his paw over his chest and nodded respectfully at the robed Pokémon, "I don't understand too much about money or anything like that, so I don't really care about abusing the Panacea for Poké or whatever."

"Hm, hm, hm..." Duskull covered his skull – like face with his robe and chuckled, "you're an amusing one, Blue. If only the world had more Pokémon that thought like you do."

"No, no," I shook my paw at Duskull, "that would cause more issues than it would help, really."

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" Blue said in mock indignation. I giggled and shook my head.

"I'm just kidding, Blue." I patted his paw to show my sincerity, "Even if you're a little strange, I like you the way you are."

"Strange?" Blue glanced at the white protrusions at the back of his paws with a curious gaze, "I don't see what makes me so strange..."

Shaking my head, I left Blue to his own thoughts and turned back to Duskull. The robed Pokémon appeared to have conjured up a piece of paper from somewhere and was busy scribbling down something on it. I tried to sneak a look at what he was writing by craning my neck over the table.

But in the end, I didn't need to. Right as I reached the perfect angle to peek, Duskull stopped writing and folded the paper in half. He took the paper and slid it across the table toward me.

"What's this?" I attempted to open the folded message, but Duskull quickly stopped me by placing his robe on the paper.

"Be wary, Fée." He commanded, keeping his robe tightly pressed against the paper, "within that paper contains the location of the Panacea..." I saw Duskull's eyes flit toward one of the open windows on the wall, "this house contains many holes and very little privacy. Open that paper when you're sure you're alone and safe."

I glanced over to the window as well. For a fraction of a second, I thought I saw two shadows vanish from behind the curtains. I don't know if I imagined it or not, but I didn't want to risk anything. Sensing danger, I shoved the paper into my Explorer's Pack. I nodded at Duskull with a serious expression on my face.

"Thank you Duskull," I grabbed Blue's attention by patting him on the shoulder. We got off our seats and bowed to the old, robed Pokémon. Duskull chuckled again and hovered over to the display counter at the front of the store.

"Mmm... the trip to the Panacea wont take very long," Duskull pulled out a small, colorful bag from underneath the counter and began to fill it up with the various confectioneries on display. "but, just in case the two of you get peckish along the way, allow this old baker to offer you some snacks."

As Blue and I made our way over to the other side of the counter, Duskull placed the bulging bag in front of us. I eyed the little dusty cash register sitting at the side of the counter and instinctively reached for my pack for some money.

"No, you needn't pay me any money," Duskull stopped me right as I was about to place some coins on the counter, "you made this old Pokémon very happy by just providing me some company. Consider this my show of gratitude to the two of you."

"Thank you for all your help, Duskull." I said, beaming as I graciously accepted his bag of pastries, "I promise I'll come by and visit you again sometime."

"I'll come too," Blue grinned and patted my head, "your food's great. I can't wait to eat some more!"

Duskull covered his face with his robe and chuckled happily. When he showed his face again, I imagined that there was a big smile behind his skull – shaped face.

"Mmm... you two have given me something nice to look forward to in the future." He bowed low at us and said in a grateful voice, "Thank you, Fée. Thank you, Blue."

* * *

Fée and Blue walked away from the store, waving goodbye to the nice old Pokémon inside. After the two happy explorers vanished back into the forest of buildings that was the town proper, Duskull closed the door to his store with a quiet creaking noise, followed by the sound of a lock being replaced. Once more, peace and quiet returned to the area around the Phantom Pâtisserie.

"Woah, ho, ho..."

A peculiar laugh wafted through the silent air. From behind the creaky old building, two floating Pokémon came out of hiding.

"I heard it all, I did," one of the Pokémon opened his mouth into a wide grin, allowing a wisp of brown gas to escape from within, "those two... the coward and the Riolu, they're up to something interesting. Don't you think, Zubat?"

The purple, bat – like Pokémon that was flapping in the air beside Koffing mirrored his grin, "Meh, heh, heh... that's right. I heard it too. They were saying something about a valuable item, weren't they?"

Zubat hovered above Koffing for a moment before landing on top of his rounded head. He clung on tightly to the gas ball's head as the two of them began to float after the Eevee and the Riolu.

"I heard them talking about how you could make a lot of Poké from this item," Koffing replied, "it was called the pa... peh... puu..." his face scrunched up as he tried his hardest to remember the name of the item.

"Don't hurt your tiny brain, you numbskull," Zubat retorted, slapping Koffing on top of his head with his wing, "I remember it just fine. It was called the Panacea Elixir, and they said that it was some sort of super medicine."

"Oh yeah! That's right, it was the Panacea!"

Zubat grinned, "If we can find this medicine before they can, then we can steal it right from under that coward's nose."

"And then we can give it to the boss," Koffing added, "he'll be so proud of us if we bring him this valuable treasure! Maybe he'll even forgive us for our last mistake..."

"Those two will pay for what they did to us," Zubat felt his smile twist into a disgusted frown as he remembered the pain he and Koffing went through back at the Beach Cave, "I'll make sure they'll rue the day they screwed around with us!"

"That Riolu threw a rock in my mouth... it really hurt, Zubat," Koffing said in a pained voice as he shook his head, nearly shaking off his bat partner. Zubat screeched in irritation as took to the skies again. He swooped down and struck Koffing across the face with his wing.

"You think getting a rock thrown in your mouth is bad?" Zubat seethed, "You try getting crushed against a wall and then having someone explode in your face!"

"I said I was sorry, Zubat..." Koffing mumbled as he felt the stinging welt on his cheek, "I couldn't help it, I was holding back so much gas that it was going to blow either way..."

"Keeeh!" Zubat slapped Koffing's other cheek, "Then you should've stopped holding it in!" Koffing opened his mouth to retort, but Zubat quickly interrupted him, "Feh, it doesn't matter now anyway! What we should be focusing on now is getting our revenge!"

He quickly flapped toward the direction of the town, where Fée and Blue had disappeared to. Turning around, the little bat Pokémon hastily threw Koffing a gesture to follow him before zipping off into the town; leaving Koffing all alone by the creepy bakery.

"H – hold on Zubat, I can't fly as fast as you!"

* * *

"Let's see... for us to leave town proper, we first need to present the guard with our Explorer's Badges. That'll let him know that we're official explorers – well, explorer apprentices anyway – out on an expedition. Also, it'll let him know which guild we're affiliated to."

"Mmhm..."

"Then, as we return back to town after we're done with our adventure; we need to show the guard our badges again and declare any treasure we might find while outside of town. Just to show him that we're not bringing anything dangerous into the town."

"Mmhm... "

While we were making our way through the streets of Treasure Town, I decided to try and educate Blue a little on a few rules and regulations that explorers have to abide by. Although he didn't seem like he was fully understanding some of the concepts, I could tell that he was at least listening intently to my lectures.

"So then..." Blue mumbled as he rubbed his chin, "assuming we did get a ton of treasure while out of town, do we have to give it to the guard?"

I shook my head, "No, we just have to tell him what we got. As long as he doesn't deem our haul as dangerous, we're free to bring it back into town and keep it for ourselves."

"This place is called Treasure Town, after all," I said in a happy voice as I smiled at Blue, "it would be strange if they didn't let us keep the treasure we find."

Blue let out a bark – like laugh and said, "Well, I suppose you have a point there!" He grinned as he fluffed the fur on my head. I blushed and shook my head, trying to get the messed – up fur back in place. When I looked back at Blue, I noticed that he had already moved several paces ahead of me. Feeling a little panicked, I quickly ran back to his side.

As we walked, Blue had pulled open the little bag of pastries that Duskull had given us. He reached inside and pulled out one of the little biscuits that the old Pokémon had just finished baking. He gave it a thoughtful look for a moment before popping the whole thing into his mouth.

"You know– mmf – that Duskull guy – mmf..." He said as he chewed the biscuit. I shook my head and pointed my paw at my mouth, telling him to finish eating before speaking. Blue seemed to get the hint, as he paused his speech to finish chewing his snack. He gulped it down and took a deep breath.

"As I was saying," Blue continued on, totally unperturbed, "I was wondering just how much that Duskull guy knows about the Panacea."

"What do you mean?"

Blue pulled out another biscuit from the sack and said, "Well Fée,didn't it look like to you that he wasn't telling us the whole story?" He offered me the biscuit. I shook my head and refused him by pushing it away with my paw.

"Well... he did seem a little cautious about telling us everything about the medicine," I said, thinking back to our conversation with the old Pokémon, "but I'm sure he had a reason to keep some details from us."

"I'm curious as to how he – and the Guildmaster – knew about this supposedly rare and amazing medicine in the first place," Blue remarked as he took a bite out of the biscuit, "it sounds a little fishy, don't you think?"

"I'm sure there's a story behind that," I replied, shaking my head, "but it's not our problem to stick our noses into." I patted Blue's leg and looked up at him, "We should be thankful that they're even telling us about the Panacea for you, Blue."

"Hmm..." Blue placed the biscuit in his mouth and held onto it with his teeth, "Mmf... I guess you're right," he flicked his muzzle up and threw the biscuit into the air, "I suppose there's no real reason for me to be suspicious of them when they're helping me."

He caught the falling biscuit in his mouth and bit off another large piece out of it. He grinned at me with crumbs plastered all over his muzzle. "I'll have to remember to thank Duskull the next time we visit him."

I giggled as I brushed the biscuit fragments off his fur, "Really though, I wasn't expecting Duskull to be a such a nice Pokémon." Dusting the crumbs off my paws; I closed my eyes and thought back to the spooky house, "His bakery looked so scary on the outside, but it was so nice and cozy on the inside."

"I guess you really can't judge a book by it's cov –oof!"

My thoughts were interrupted as I accidentally collided into soft something in front of me. My eyes flew open as I was thrown backward, and down onto the ground. The consequences of walking with my eyes closed, ouch! Worried about what I might've hit, I shook the dust from my face and scrambled back onto my feet.

"I'm so sorry!" I opened my eyes and apologized at whoever it was, "Are you alri...?"

I found my thoughts trailing off as I saw the Pokémon. It was as if I was looking into a mirror, a very pink – tinted mirror. The Pokémon pulled himself off the ground with grace and dusted the dirt off its brilliant white fur before turning and looking at me with its shining blue eyes.

"My, my... I believe that is what I should be asking," To my great surprise, the Pokémon spoke in a deep, male voice. He sauntered up to me and held out a pink – furred paw and asked, "are you alright, darling?"

"D – darling?" I was taken aback by his words. A blush was crawling onto my face as I slowly backed away from the pink stranger. "N – no, I'm alright. I didn't get hurt."

"I see, that's quite a relief." He said with a deep sigh while smiling at me.

Despite his manly voice, the Pokémon had a very feminine look overall. He had a very handsome face, with two large baby – blue eyes. His entire body was covered in soft, white – colored fur; while his ears, paw – tips and tail were a very cutesy shade of pink. A small, pretty pink ribbon was tied onto his left ear, while a slightly larger ribbon shaped like a bow tie was present on his chest. The two ribbons had long tails that trailed out from behind him, mysteriously hovering around the Pokémon's body like long, cottony feelers. He was also slightly larger than I was, and his fur was much less much poofy and better groomed than mine. Despite our myriad of differences though, I couldn't help but feel a strange sense of familiarity between us.

"Who are you?" Blue folded his arms and asked the pink Pokémon.

"My, where are my manners?" He chuckled in his deep voice and sat down on the ground. He straightened the large, bow tie – like ribbon with his front paws and said, "Many call me Sylveon, but as a special treat for you two..." He held his paw over his chest and bowed low, "you may call me Barie instead."

"Sylveon?" I tilted my head to the side in confusion. I had never heard of a Pokémon by that name before.

"That's correct, my little Eevee," he said, beaming at my bewildered look, "I take it the two of you aren't from Unity City?"

Blue and I both shook our heads. Barie covered his mouth with his paw and chuckled.

"My, that makes sense then," he held his paw over his bow tie again and smiled at me, "I suppose Sylveon aren't very common around this part of the world, hm?"

"No," I shook my head and spoke in an honest voice, "it's my first time seeing a Sylveon like you, Barie."

"Well then, I'm quite honored to be... your first," suddenly, the gentlemanly Pokémon gave me a little wink. Feeling my blush intensify, I instinctively ducked behind Blue and and tried to hide my reddening face behind his tail. I could hear Barie chuckling at my embarrassment, "my, my... you're quite charming little thing, darling."

"Mmh...!" With every word he spoke, I could feel strange, unfamiliar emotions being conjured up within me. I've never quite met a Pokémon who acted like this before, and it was making me feel incredibly awkward inside.

"You know," I heard Blue speak in a curious voice as I stuffed my red face into his tail for the third time today, "you kinda resemble Fée a bit. Are you two related?"

"Well, aren't you a handsome one?" Barie said in a surprised voice, "I'll admit, I've never actually spoken to a Riolu face to face before. You're giving me quite a different impression than I would've expected."

"What do you mean by that?" Blue retorted.

"No, I apologize. I didn't mean sound rude." He paused for a moment. I assumed that he might've been bowing to Blue, "It's just that... I've heard so much about Riolu in my line of work that it might've colored my expectations just a tad."

I felt Blue's shoulders go up as he shrugged, "Well, it's not the first time I heard someone say something like that to me."

"Still, I apologize." Barie insisted.

"Forget it, I don't really care either way."

"My, my... you're an interesting one," Barie spoke in an odd, low voice, "I think I would like to get to know you better sometime, Riolu..."

Their conversation was becoming strangely suspicious to me. With my curiosity piqued, I detached myself from Blue's tail and peered out at the two of them. I inhaled sharply at what I saw. Barie had closed in on Blue sometime during their conversation, and was caressing my friend's cheek with his feelers in a suspiciously intimate manner.

"H – hold on..!" for some reason, I found myself shouting at the two of them. Barie and Blue looked surprised at my sudden interruption. The pink Pokémon recovered first and smiled at me. He shook his head as he closed his eyes, while Blue didn't seem like he really cared about what the pink Sylveon was doing.

"I'm afraid I might've made your friend a little uncomfortable," Barie withdrew his feeler from Blue's face and backed away a few paces from him, "my apologies, darling."

"P – please don't call me that..." I mumbled, shaking my head that word.

To my great relief, the pink Pokémon nodded. He gave me another wink and said, "Alright, if it really makes you that uncomfortable, then I'll refrain from calling you darling." He held out his paw to me in a friendly gesture, "Would you mind giving me your name then, cutie?"

"...just call me Fée, thank you."

"Fée... Fée..." He closed his eyes and repeated my name twice, "what an adorable name. It fits you quite well, cutie."

...I really can't handle Pokémon like this. I sighed in resignation as the Sylveon chuckled happily in front of me.

"So then, do you have a name for me as well, handsome?" He said as he pointed a questioning paw at Blue.

"You can just call me Blue," he replied simply.

Barie tilted his head to the side, making his ribbons flop down on the right side of his head. He glanced at Blue with a puzzled look on his face before saying, "'Blue...?' That's a very... unique name."

"So I've heard."

Barie straightened his head again and rubbed his muzzle with his ribbons. After a moment of silent thought, he shrugged and let it go. Smiling again, he pulled on his bow tie with his paws and said, "Well, it's not my place to criticize your names. It's nice to meet you Fée, Blue."

The pink Pokémon extended two of his feelers out to Blue and I, as if asking for a handshake. I glanced over to Blue, who stared curiously at the feelers for a moment before shrugging and grasping it with his paws. The feeler in front of me twitched up a bit, as if asking for my paw as well. Sighing, I let go of my reservations and held up my paw as well.

As soon as his soft ribbons touched me, I felt another of that odd, familiar feeling wash over me. My eyes widened as I felt his feelers wrap around my paw. It was almost as though I've felt something similar back in the past. But, as I tried to remember where I might've felt this before, nothing came up in my memory. I stared at the Sylveon sitting in front of me with a bewildered look on my face.

Have I met this Pokémon before? As far as I can tell, the answer was no. I can't recall a single instance in my memory where I might've met someone like Barie before. So then, what is this strange deja vu feeling rumbling around inside of me?

"Oh, by the way," I was snapped out of my reverie by Barie's deep voice. He pulled his ribbons away from our paws, and in turn, he pulled away that odd familiar feeling from me as well. He straightened the bow tie on his chest and said in a prideful voice, "to answer your question earlier, Blue. It doesn't surprise me that you consider Fée and I similar in some way."

"Why is that?" I asked, a little curious myself.

"That's simple, my dear Fée," he grinned as held up one of his paws and placed it against my ruff, "it's because I was once an Eevee as well. Just as you are now."


	19. Don't you recognize me?

**• ****  
Chapter 18:**

**"Don't you recognize me?"**

"W – what did you say?"

I glanced down at Barie's pink paw on my ruff. Then, I looked back up at his handsome face with wide, astonished eyes. He smiled at me in a charming, almost suave manner as he turned his paw upside down. His paw moved up from my ruff and reached the bottom of my face. He proceeded to caress my chin in a gentle manner.

"My, you look positively charming when you're confused," he gave me a small wink as he chuckled. All of a sudden, his paw dropped from my chin down to my legs. He picked up one of my front paws and held it up to his face.

"How about I give you a first hand demonstration of what a Sylveon can do?"

Before I could even react; he leaned his head down and pressed his mouth down on my paw in a smooth, quick motion.

"E – eeeeeh?!" My eyes widened into the size of dinner plates when I felt him kiss my paw. I tried to shake his face off my fur, but as I tried to move my paw. I discovered that, all of a sudden, I somehow couldn't move. An electrifying sensation exploded out from where he kissed me, and caused every single strand of hair on my body to stand up like pine needles.

He raised his head up from my paw and gazed right into my eyes. He put his paw on the front of my ruff, making me I stare into his eyes. As I looked into his beautiful, baby blue eyes, the world around us wavered and melted away. The colors of the sky, buildings and ground melded together into a pastel – like mixture of colors. Eventually, the only thing I could see clearly in this painterly world was Barie's handsome face.

Our faces were so close that I could feel his warm breath against me. A part of my brain told me to shove him away, to stop him from getting any closer. But I detected an unnatural, sweet – smelling fragrance emanating from his mouth. The strange aroma he was giving off was so... so intoxicating that it blanked out my mind as soon as I took a single whiff. Although I wasn't quite sure what it was, his scent had reminded me of something familiar and comforting...

"H – hold on..." I was shocked at how weak my voice sounded. In my desperation to regain control, I grasped the paw he had on my chest. But, it was a futile effort. Barie just reversed our paws, making it so that he was the one holding onto my paws instead. I could feel his soft, silky fur press against my coarse, brown fur. Somehow, just the presence of his paw on mine seemed to intensify the intoxicating scent coming from him. I felt my breathing become ragged and uncontrolled as his smiling mouth neared my own.

One of his soft, pink feelers moved up to my face and, with a gentle touch, brushed my eyes closed. Then, I felt the feeler curl around and press itself against the back of my head. It began to inch my face closer and closer to his, enveloping me further within his fragrant aura. For some odd reason, I could feel the feeler emanating a familiar warmth. It was the same warmth that I felt... when Blue put my ribbon on my ear...

_Wham!_

Then, all of a sudden, the fragrant scent and the warm mood surrounding us vanished. I stood there in a daze; my eyes blinking rapidly as my mind scrambled around to try and make sense of what just happened.

_Thump!_

My head sluggishly moved over to where the sound came from. In my blurred vision, the world was still colored in pastels. I could just barely make out a tall, blue smudge wobbling around me. In the distance, I saw Barie lying on the dirt several feet away.

An urgent sense of worry overcame me. Why was he on the ground? Did he get hurt? Who hurt him? With all these questions wimming around in my mind, I took a step toward Barie, my paws already reaching toward my Explorer's Pack. However, the large blue smudge from before suddenly barred my way and tightly grasped onto my shoulders, preventing me from moving. It shook me around like a rag doll, making my head bob up and down in my daze.

"Wake up!"

Who's voice was that? I can't seem to recall who it was. But it sure sounded familiar, somehow. From behind the blue smudge, I could just barely see Barie twitching in the dirt. I need to go help him. I can't just leave him there on the ground like that. This stupid blue smudge needs to get out of the way.

"Fée! It's me, Blue! Don't you recognize me?"

The smudge was talking to me again, but I ignored it. I needed to go and get Barie back up on his feet. Maybe he'll reward me if I go assist him. I think I'd like that...

"Ouch! What the heck are you doing?"

Anger filled me as I tried to bash away the smudge with my head. I headbutted it as hard as I could, wanting to knock it down and get it out of my way. After all, I needed to go help Barie!

"Ugh... I'm sorry about this, Fée..."

_Thwap!_

All of a sudden, stars exploded in my eyes as a sharp blow struck the top of my head. I cried out in shock at the rising pain in my head. Crouching down onto the ground, I clutched the top of my head with my paws as tears welled up in my eyes.

"Are you back to normal now? Sorry if it hurt, I tried to hold back as much as I could."

"Heeh...?" Blinking away my tears, the pastel – filled world around me was beginning to vanish. Buildings and roads slowly rematerialized from their former, blurry selves. And the blue splotch that was in front of me...

"B – Blue...?" I coughed as I saw my friend's face in front of me. His outline was still blurry and unfocused, but at least I could tell that it was Blue, rather than an unfocused smudge. I reached up with my paw and touched his chest to make sure that he was actually there. When I did so, I heard him release a deep sigh.

"Whew," he threw his arm around me and pulled me into a hug, "you're back to normal."

"Back... to normal...?" I muttered, still feeling dazed and confused, "What... what happened to me?"

Blue let go of me and placed a paw against my forehead, "You sorta... went a little strange when that guy touched you earlier."

"Strange...? How...?"

"He wrapped his ribbon... things around your head, and then you kinda just fell silent. Then, your face went really red," Blue jabbed a paw at the mound of pink fur on the ground ahead of us, "you weren't acting like yourself at all."

"Eh?" I stared at the fallen Sylveon with confusion written all over my face. I patted my face, and sure enough, Blue was right. It was sizzling red and hot. At first, I wondered why I was blushing so hard, but then; as my dulled mind began to slowly wake up, my bewilderment gradually transformed into horror. I sat down and clasped my paws over my mouth as I began to recall exactly what had happened just a few seconds prior.

"No!" I cried out in a horrified panic. I understood completely as to why my face was redder than a Tamato Berry. Had a few more seconds passed before Blue interrupted us, I might've... I might've...!

I glanced down at my paws. Even now, I could still faintly detect his scent lingering on my fur. Disgusted, at myself and at him, I dropped my paws onto the dirt and tried to scrub the scent away as hard as I can.

In the distance, I heard Barie groaning in pain as he recovered from being sent through the air by Blue. He looked stunned as he stumbled around, trying to regain his balance. His immaculate fur was now mussed up with brown dirt, and his ribbons were all jumbled up and tangled around his legs in a mess. Seeing him in such a disarray made me feel a little pity for him, but my sympathy quickly vanished when I remembered what he almost did to me.

"My, my..." he said as he delicately brushed the dirt off his pure white fur with his ribbons, "this is the first time I've ever had a man punch me in the face like that."

_Crack_.

Suddenly, a sharp noise rang out from beside me. I looked up and saw Blue cracking his knuckles with a scary look on his face.

"I wouldn't mind giving you another one," Blue cracked his knuckles one more time and folded his arms, his burning red eyes practically firing daggers at the dapper Sylveon smiling at us in the distance. He took a heavy step forward. His presence was so menacing that it was actually making me feel a little scared as well. Nervously, I glanced over to Barie to see what kind of expression he had on his face.

"Now that was a superb blow..." amazingly, Barie still had his suave smile plastered on his face. He returned Blue's glare with a casual smile. He raised up one of his paws to his face and rubbed the red mark that Blue had left on his cheek, "My, did I accidentally trod on one of your paws, Blue? I didn't imagine that you'd get so angry over a little tease like that."

"What the heck did you do to Fée?" Blue shouted. He pointed a paw at the pink Pokémon and stated, "You're another one of those Pokémon that can use psychic powers, aren't you?"

"Psychic powers...?" Barie looked a little confused at Blue's sudden accusation. He held up one of his ribbons and examined it with his paw before shaking his head at us, "I believe you're mistaken, my overprotective friend." He let his ribbon fall from his paw, where it then curled itself around his neck. He smiled at Blue and gave a small bow, "All I did was show her the powers of a Sylveon."

Blue had a skeptical look on his face, "What do you mean by that?"

Barie took hold of his bow tie with his paws and straightened it out, "As I've said before, my dear Blue; I am a Sylveon." He gestured to his head with the end of one of his ribbons and smiled, "As a Sylveon, I do not have the capability to harness any sort of psychic ability. Now, if I was an Espeon instead..."

Suddenly, he paused in the middle of his words. The savvy smile on his face slipped slightly while the ribbon beside his face appeared to wilt a little. He looked away from us for a moment and held his paw up to his mouth. An aura of confusion washed over Blue and I as we stood there, wondering what he was doing.

He must've noticed our questioning gaze as he quickly coughed and turned his head back to face us, his suave smile back on his face as if nothing had happened. Straightening out his bow tie again, he held his paw up and said in a cheerful tone, "If I was an Espeon, then I probably be just as attractive as I am now."

I narrowed my eyes at the chuckling Sylveon. Something felt off with his last statement, although I couldn't quite put my paw on it.

"Then..." I clasped my paw over my mouth and blushed, "what you did to me earlier..."

Barie shook his head and winked at me, "There's no need to worry, Fée. I wouldn't have gone any further than just a little tease." He gazed at me with a sly expression on his face and held one of his ribbons up to his mouth, hiding his smile, "However... if you wanted a little more, then I wouldn't mind showing you the full extent of a Sylveon's powers..."

"N – no!" I ducked behind Blue and covered my face, "I – I'm not interested! No!"

"What a shame," Barie dropped his ribbon and shook his head, "but I can understand why." He sighed as his eyes drifted over to Blue, "I suppose I've been... ah... late to the party." The Sylveon chuckled in an enigmatic manner, making Blue and I glance at each other with questioning looks on our faces.

"Nevertheless," The Sylveon placed his paw on his chest and bowed his head with his eyes closed, "I am sorry for what I did, truly, I am." He turned his head up and looked at me. His suave smile was gone, and in its place was a small frown, "It was not my intention to make you feel uncomfortable, Fée. Believe me when I say that all I was planning to do was tease you and your friend."

The Sylveon held up one of his paws with his head leaned down. It was a sincere apologetic gesture. I gave Blue a nervous glance as I wondered what I should do. Even though what he did to me was fairly... shameful, it wasn't anything too bad or injurious. In the end, it was Blue who interrupted it. So we never would've of known just how far he would've taken that... tease.

"I... I forgive you," I spoke with a sigh as I placed my paw on his. Although I still wasn't exactly sure as to what the right answer was, I figured that there was no reason as to why I should continue holding onto a grudge. Despite his... forwardness, Barie really did seem like he was sincerely sorry about his actions.

"Thank you, Fée," the smile on the Sylveon's face returned. It wasn't his previous, super – suave smile, but rather, it was more like a smile between friends. In fact, his current smile seemed to have made him look a little bit more handsome than before. I quickly turned my head away from the pink Pokémon, feeling a blush rising up in my face again.

"Don't be mistaken. I'm still keeping my eyes on you," I saw Blue take Barie's paw after mine. He still had a serious expression on his face, "if I ever see you hurt Fée again, then you're going to face my wrath."

Barie shook his head as he withdrew his paw from Blue's grasp, "I would never think of hurting a woman, much less a friend." The Sylveon sat down and straightened out his bow tie, "But... I am quite jealous of the two of you."

"Jealous?" I echoed in a puzzled voice.

He held one of his ribbons up to his mouth. From behind the strip of pink, I could see his former sly smile returning to his face as he tried to hide it. The Sylveon chuckled deeply as his gaze flitted between Blue and I; his eyes carrying an uncomfortable knowing gaze behind the blue.

"It's nothing," he said in a muffled voice behind his ribbon, "don't worry about it."

The Sylveon began to chuckle to himself once more while Blue and I looked on in confusion.

* * *

"You said you were once an Eevee before, right?"

It was a few minutes after the whole fiasco with Barie had passed. Blue and I had resumed our trek toward the Main Plaza, but this time, the Sylveon had decided to tag along with us; citing that his destination was in the same direction as well.

"Indeed I was," Barie spoke with a prideful voice, "I fondly remember the days where I had a nice, bushy ruff around my neck, just like yours." He closed his eyes as he used his ribbons to brush his thin, soft fur, "I used to spend ages every day cleaning and grooming it. Could you imagine my horror when I finally evolved and discovered it missing around my neck?"

Feeling self – conscious, I looked down at my fluffy ruff. Despite my best attempts to clean myself after my adventure with Blue in the Beach Cave, I could still feel several grains of sand and chunks of dirt buried deep inside my thick fur. Not to mention, large portions of my fur were still matted and stuck together thanks to all the seawater I was splashed with.

"If you would like," I jumped up with a start when I heard Barie speak again. He was watching me examine my messy ruff with an amused look in his eye, "I wouldn't mind helping you clean your fur. I am quite confident in my grooming skills."

With his ribbons, he directed my eye toward his own pristine coat of white and pink. I couldn't help but feel jealous over just how pretty his fur was. Despite how he was slammed into the dirt earlier by one of Blue's punches, he still looked very clean and well – kept.

"It... it's fine," I quickly shook my head as I rejected the handsome Sylveon's offer, "I'm an explorer... I'm supposed to get dirty."

"Ah well," Barie shrugged, "the offer's still on the table if you ever want to reconsider." He glanced over to Blue with a sly smile on his face, "Who knows? You might even be able to impress a certain someone with a new look..."

"It's fine!" I shouted again, realizing what he was implying, "I don't need any grooming!"

"Alright, alright. There's no need to shout." Barie said with an amused chuckle as I grumbled in frustration. It was bad enough that Blue would tease me when we're alone, but now there's someone else as well. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Barie give me a sly, knowing look. This guy... he's so annoying! Puffing my cheeks out, I turned away from Barie in a huff.

"So, am I correct in assuming that the both of you are explorers?" He asked, "It's what you said earlier, but just so we're on the same page here..."

"That's right," Blue answered for me, "Fée and I both became explorers just this morning."

"My, that's quite an impressive feat!" Barie spoke with an admiring tone, "Back in Unity City, we rarely have explorers quite as young as the two of you."

"Wait, you're from Unity City?" My curiosity was piqued. I rarely, if ever, hear anything about other towns or cities outside of Treasure Town. My previous annoyance was quickly doused by my rising eagerness to hear more, "Does that mean you moved here with the crowd yesterday?"

"That's correct," Barie said with a nod, "it was quite a mess, to say the least." One of his ribbons fluttered around him and began to dust off his fur, "Dust, dirt and sand were flying everywhere. I must've carried an entire pound of grime on me by the time we were allowed past the gates."

"Why did you decide to come to Treasure Town?" I asked, ignoring his grumbling, "I mean, isn't Unity City this big, fancy city filled with all kinds of Pokémon? I heard that the place is massive – like almost twice the size of Treasure Town," I turned to Blue and made a wide gesture with my paws, "and I also heard that the buildings in the city are made of strong stone and tough metal! And they're like giant towers that stretch all the way up into the sky!"

Blue didn't reply, but he did chuckle at my enthusiasm. Undeterred, I continued to describe to describe to him the things I knew about the city.

"I once overheard some Pokémon talking about how if you stand at the top of the tallest building in Unity City, you can even touch the stars with your own paws!" I glanced up into the skies and reached up my right paw, "That's incredible, don't you think?"

"Touching the stars... huh?" Blue mimicked my action and reached up with his own paw, "That does sound rather amazing. I'd like to try that someday."

Happy that Blue also shared my desire, I circled around him and gave him a bright smile, "Me too!"

I looked over to Barie to see if he agreed with what I said as well. To my confusion, he wasn't looking at us. Instead, he seemed to be interested in his paws all of a sudden, and his mouth was covered by one of his ribbons.

"I suppose it's good to dream big..." I heard him mutter under his breath as we continued to walk together. He shook his head and dropped his ribbon from his face, revealing a small, strained – looking smile.

"What do you mean by that?" I was a little surprised at how depressed he sounded. Tilting my head in confusion, I stared at the Sylveon with questioning eyes, "Am I wrong?"

"No... you're more or less correct," replied Barie as he turned to look at me, "Unity City does have a lot of... good sights, I suppose. It's just a little interesting to me to hear what others think about the place."

He let out another sigh and sped up his pace, leaving Blue and I behind in an aura of bewilderment. We glanced at each other, both of us were wearing the same confused expression on our faces. Just what did Barie mean by that?

"Wait!" I shouted as I ran after the Sylveon. I reached the pink Pokémon's side and panted out a question, "C – can you tell us what you know of Unity City, Barie? I'm curious!"

Barie stopped and looked at me. One of his ribbons swirled up beside me and laid itself on top of my head. With a smile on his face, Barie shook his head.

"My... I think I'd rather not have someone as innocent as you hear about the place from a jaded old Pokémon like me," said Barie in an encouraging voice, "you are an explorer, right?"

"Y – yeah..."

"Then you should find out on your own. Form your own opinion with your own eyes." He grinned and patted me on the head with his ribbon.

Although I felt a little disappointed, I could understand the meaning behind his words. Barie chuckled and curled the ribbon around one of my ears. With a quick tug, he pulled my head in close to his again. He leaned his muzzle near and whispered into my ear.

"Though Fée..." He spoke in a deep, sensual voice as he held one of his paws underneath my chin, "...I wouldn't mind telling you everything about myself... in private, that is..."

Feeling the temperature rise up in my face again, I quickly leapt away from the seductive Sylveon. The ribbon he had around my ear unraveled and snapped back to him, as if it was a spring coil.

"No way!" I seethed, annoyed that I fell for another one of his 'teases." Frustrated and angry, I turned away from Barie and walked back to Blue's side, but not before sticking my tongue out at him and spouting, "Jeez, I never should've asked you anything!"

"My, my," Barie chuckled as he curled his ribbon back around his own ear with his paw, "I just adore teasing you, Fée. You're so much fun to play around, unlike the Pokémon back at the city."

He threw his head up into the air and breathed deeply. With a chuckle, he held out one of his ribbons toward Blue and I and gave us a wink.

"Well, It's been fun being around the two of you," he held his paw over his bow tie and bowed, "but, I'm sorry to say that I must be leaving now."

"Hold on, you're going?" I stopped and turned around at the Sylveon, "Why?"

Barie chuckled and held up his right paw into the air, "I have somewhere I must be. It's actually quite important." He shook his head and smiled, "I was supposed to be there about a few hours ago. But, I consider meeting new friends to be much more important than something like that."

"I see..." I said in a quiet voice. Despite how much I disliked his teasing, I couldn't help but feel a little sad at the prospect of a friend leaving. Even Blue, for all his anger at Barie earlier, looked a little disappointed.

"But don't worry," Barie said as he walked up to Blue and I, "I'm quite sure we'll meet each other again another day." He held out a paw and winked at Blue, "After all, I'm sure you're anxious to give me another punch, right?"

"Heh..." Blue grinned as he grasped Barie's paw firmly, "only if you manage to seriously anger me again."

"My, my... that's something I'll have to remember to avoid," Barie returned Blue's grin as the two of them shook their paws.

Barie let go of Blue's paw and sauntered over to me. He held up his paw in front of me, asking for a handshake as well. At first, I was a little hesitant. What if this was another one of his tricks to embarrass me?

"There's no need to be afraid, Fée," he said with a knowing smile, "I've had my fill of fun for today. Let's have an amicable farewell between friends, alright?"

"...alright," sighing a little, I decided to let bygones be bygones and forgive him. I placed my paw on top of his and gave him a smile. "Goodbye, Barie."

"My, what a lovely smile." Barie said, making me blush once more. He let go of my paw and stepped back a few paces, but not before pausing and giving us a bow, "Goodbye Fée, and you too as well, Blue."

"This isn't goodbye," Blue remarked as he folded his arms in front of his chest "we'll meet again, like you said."

"Of course." The Sylveon gave the two of us a bright, shining smile before he turned around. He held up one of his ribbons as he spoke his final goodbye.

"I'll be looking forward to seeing the two of you again in the future."

* * *

After we parted ways with our new friend, Blue and I eventually made our way back to the Main Plaza. The morning had given way to noontime, and as a result, the sun was now hanging right over the town. Strange, just a few weeks ago, the days were cool and balmy, and now everything feels searing hot.

"Whew..." I heard Blue take a deep breath as he leaned against the stone walls of the fountain, hiding himself within the shadow. Taking my place beside the Riolu, we both sat down together and let the ambient mist from the water cool us down. Blue reached beside him and withdrew the packet of Pecha Berries from his Explorer's Pack. He broke the small, pink berry into two pieces.

"Take a bite, Fée," he said as he offered me a half of the juicy berry, "it's sweet and minty. It'll cool down your mouth."

"Thanks, Blue," I smiled as I accepted the Pecha half from my friend. Taking a dainty bite out of the berry, I let the sweet juice wash over my tongue and dribble down my throat. He was right, the berry was pretty minty. I opened my mouth and took a deep breath.

"Eep!" The sudden rush of air made me feel as though I just swallowed a ball of snow. I quickly clamped my lips shut and waited for the pain to recede from my teeth.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" Blue snickered as he swallowed his half of the berry in one gulp. He showed me his pink – stained teeth as he smiled at me. I gave him a playful shove in response.

"Hehe..." Giggling at his antics, I leaned my head back against the wall and let my aching teeth recover. I stared into the sky. The sun was still shining bright, but it looks like a few clouds were inching their way over to block the searing hot rays. I turned over and poked Blue in the arm to grab his attention.

"Blue, let's get moving once the shade sets in," I pointed at the meandering clouds up in the sky, "once we're out of town, we can check out that letter Duskull gave us."

"Sounds like a good plan," Blue put his arms behind his head and scooted further into the shade, "I wonder why it's so hot all of a sudden. It wasn't this bad yesterday."

"Well, I guess Summer finally arrived," I replied while making sure Duskull's letter was still in my pack, "I'm honestly a little surprised that it took this long for the air to heat up, since Spring has been over for a while ago." I grinned at Blue and joked, "Maybe the Summer is trying to make up for lost time by suddenly turning up the heat like this."

"Summer... huh?" Blue mumbled as he leaned back with with his eyes closed, "I think I like the heat. It's a lot better than being freezing cold all the time."

"All the time? What do you mean by that?"

Blue yawned and fell silent. Leaning in close to his face, I picked up the faint sound of him snoring. I stared at him, stunned. I picked up one of his paws and wiggled it about. Did he really just fall asleep, just like that?

Sighing, I dropped his paw and shook my head. Well, at least if I wanted to wake him up, there was a whole fountain full of water behind us...

* * *

Darkness filled Blue's vision as he opened his eyes. Once more, he found himself lying down in the middle of the snowy abyss. Like before, he could see nothing in the distance but inky, black darkness. The ground was still covered in a thick layer of snow, and the sky was filled with an innumerable amount of immobile snowflakes.

"Here again, huh?" Blue sighed as he shoved himself off the powdery snow. He felt his head bump against several snowflakes as he stood up, shattering the fragile little things into millions of sparkling fragments. He dusted the chilly, white particles of snow off his fur as he scanned his surroundings.

Nothing had changed. The road of snow stretching out into oblivion, the frozen flakes hanging in the air, the piles of undisturbed snow that straddled the side of the road... Everything was just as it was before.

Blue brushed aside a curtain of snowflakes in front of him as he walked down the snowy path. He didn't know where the path would lead him, but he knew that as long as he followed this road, _that thing_ will appear. He felt his blood begin to boil as he thought about his last encounter with that mysterious creature.

There wasn't anything he could've done against that monster. Blue recalled how the creature managed to throw him around like a ragdoll made of straw by just roaring at him. He remembered how his one, and only attempt at fighting back resulted in his arm nearly being absorbed into the beast's carapace.

Blue clenched his fist in anger. If he met the creature again, what could he do differently this time? It was a monster with overwhelming power and presence. Furthermore, it was a beast that he couldn't even find a way to fight back against. Was the thing even a Pokémon? What could he do? What can he do?

He stared down at his shaking fist. If his punches were worthless, then he would have to find a different way to fight. Blue dropped his arm and looked around him for something that could help him. A weapon, a tool, anything would do. To his frustration, all he could find around him were piles and piles of snow and glittering snowflakes.

Blue slammed his paw into the freezing snow, irritated at its lack of use. As he withdrew his paw, he noticed that some of the snowy powder clung to his fur. An idea surfaced in his mind as he examined the white particles on his paw. Bending down, Blue began to scoop up the snow beside the road. With great care, he packed the loose snow into a tight, icy ball.

Holding up his creation to the sky, Blue weighed the snowball in his paw, judging its density and weight. Feeling that the ball was a tad too light, he packed a few more layers of snow over it until it felt just right in his paw. He tossed it up into the air and watched it shatter several snowflakes before returning to his grasp.

Would such a thing even work on a massive creature like that? Blue considered the possibility of making more snowballs until he had a decent stock of them to pelt at the beast. But, as he continued to mull over his plan, he felt the ball begin to dribble cold water down his fur. Blue sighed as he let the snowball slip off his paw. It hit the ground with a wet splat as it exploded into chunks of wet snow.

If his fists couldn't harm the beast, what use would a little ball of packed ice and snow do against it? He would have better luck trying to blow wind at the creature's feet with his mouth. Resigning to the fact that there was probably nothing he could do with the snow, Blue left his melting creation behind as he resumed his walk down the lonely road.

As he trudged toward his inevitable fate, Blue took his time to take in the sights around him. Or rather, the lack of sights. Although he had been here before, he never really took the time to wonder what this world was. Who created this lonely world of ice and darkness? Why was he here? What was that creature that brutalized him?

The more questions he created, the more irritated he became. He wanted answers. He didn't want to just walk down this road while juggling multiple unknowns inside his mind. But, there was simply no one else around to tell him anything. He was all alone in this empty, desolate world.

Every once in a while, Blue felt a strange, nagging sensation at the back of his mind. It felt as though something was trying to get out. With every step he took, the nagging feeling would intensify slightly, giving him a slight migraine. Eventually, the migraine transformed into a full – on headache. Blue grimaced as he clutched the side of his head. He was getting tired of this feeling.

Eventually, Blue saw a familiar mound of black looming in the distance. Taking a deep breath, Blue let go of his head and prepared himself for another round with the creature. The pounding inside his head had intensified to such a degree that he could barely stand the noise emanating from inside his skull. But, he had no choice to endure the pain.

After all, the creature had noticed him.

The beast reared its head back and unleashed its terrifying roar. The force of the roar was like a tidal wave plowing through the air, upending the snow on the ground while shattering every snowflake in its destructive wake. The creature glared at the now – kneeling Riolu with its glowing eyes. Not a single scrap of mercy would be given here.

Blue forced a confident smirk onto his face as he struggled to get back on his feet. The sheer volume of the roar sent the pounding inside his head into overdrive. Thousands, perhaps millions of drums were now present inside his mind, all beating at full force. His eyesight was fading, his breath was labored, and his muscles were creaking in pain as he strained himself to hold a fighting pose.

"Come on... you beast..." Blue gasped as he watched the creature stalk toward him, its eyes glinting like stars in the darkness. He held up his right paw and clenched it into a fist, "I'm... I'm ready for you this time..."

Within seconds, the beast had reached Blue. It towered over the Riolu like a great monolith. Its black carapace gleamed in the darkness, illuminated by the dim light emanating from its eyes. Blue could see his own exhausted face reflected in the beast's body, like a disturbing, full – body mirror.

"What...?"

But, what he saw wasn't what he expected. He had seen his own body before. He was short, blue and fuzzy. The reflection wasn't. He had small arms, small legs, and a childish face. The reflection didn't. The only thing he and his reflection had in common, was the fact that they both had burning red eyes.

Temporarily forgetting the dangerous situation he was in, Blue reached up with his paw and touched the side of his face. His reflection mimicked his motion and also touched its face. He moved his paw over to his muzzle, which his reflection gladly did as well. It was unmistakeable. The reflection was his.

It was his reflection, and yet, it was not.

But, he recognized the mysterious individual inside the mirror. Even in his state of amnesia, he knew who that was. He reached toward his reflection with his paw, and his double did the same. A familiar dragging sensation overwhelmed Blue when his paw came in contact with the beast's carapace. It was as if he had stuck his arm into a pit of sludge. Eventually, his arm vanished into the mirror, all the way up to his shoulder.

From the other side of the mirror, Blue could see his double smirking. Strange, was he smirking as well? Even stranger was the fact that his reflection was no longer reflecting his actions. It was standing in the center of the mirrored world, staring at Blue with a strange smile on its face. Then, all of a sudden, it held up its own right arm and presented it to Blue.

There was no mistaking that their arms were similar. Yet, several crucial differences existed between the two of them. But, as Blue tried to get a closer look at what his double's arm looked like, a sudden jarring noise from above him forced him to close his eyes out of pain.

An odd force began to emanate from within the beast's body as it roared once more. All of a sudden, Blue was ejected from the beast's carapace, blasting him away and into the air. Blue flew into the snow, sending white scattering all around him. Coughing up snow, Blue scrambled back onto his feet and grabbed onto his right arm with his other paw. He turned back to the beast, and saw that his double had turned his back to him.

"Don't go!" Blue rushed up to the beast's carapace, disregarding his safety, "Please, answer my questions! Where am I? What happened?!" His double stopped for a moment, but it didn't speak. Instead, the reflection just shook its head and began to walk away.

"Answer me, damn you!" With a furious howl, Blue slammed his fists into the beast's body. A loud splattering noise rang out as his paws sunk into the black carapace. Unfortunately for Blue, his actions had little to no effect. Soon, his reflection vanished into the darkness, leaving the Riolu alone and frustrated. Growling in anger, Blue pulled out his paws from the beast's carapace. He contemplated jumping into the mirror to catch his double.

Another ear – splitting roar exploded from above the Riolu, scattering his thoughts, and sending him back onto his knees. Blue covered his ears in a vain attempt to block out the sound. He looked up at the creature, and saw that it had reared back and onto its hind legs. It was nothing more than a miracle that the creature had stayed passive for as long as it did. And now, the miracle had vanished, just like his reflection.

Two monolithic legs hovered above, waiting to crush him. Once more, there was nothing Blue could do but close his eyes and await the inevitable.

* * *

"Alright sleepyhead. It's time for you to wake up!"

Wearing a mischievous grin on my face, I held the water – filled berry pot over Blue's snoozing face. Then, with a quiet giggle, I tipped over the clay pot and spilled the icy cold liquid all over him, drenching his face and splattering all over his fur.

"Bweh!" To my delight, the effect of the water was immediate. His eyes sprung wide open as he felt the chilly water on his face. He sneezed and sat up, spitting out the water that got into his mouth. I acted as innocent as I could as he looked around with a confused expression on his face.

"Good afternoon, Blue," My voice had a certain prideful tone to it as I nonchalantly put the berry put back inside my pack. I leaned over to his face and grinned, "did you have a good nap?"

"Wha... what?" Water dripped off his bewildered face as he tried to make sense of what was going on, "Where am I now?"

I tried to stifle a giggle with my paw as he wiped the water off his face. Blue really can't handle being forced awake, could he? Shaking my head, I backed off from him and let him slowly return from the realm of dreams.

"You fell asleep, silly," I said as gave him a playful nudge on his forehead, "don't you remember? I said we should get going once it gets a little bit cooler."

"Oh... oh right," Blue put his paw on his forehead as he took a deep breath. He looked like he was finally waking up, "right... we're going to find that Panacea... right..."

His reaction was a little strange. I tilted my head and gave him a worried look. Blue's breathing was erratic, and his chest continued to heave in and out as if he had just finished running a marathon. His right paw was twitching in a disturbing way. My previous gaiety was quickly being replaced by a sense of worry.

"Blue...?" I asked him in a quiet voice. I reached forward and held onto his other paw, trying to calm down his errant twitching, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Huh?" Blue replied with a surprised look on face, pulling his paw away from his face. I noticed that his eyes were still opened quite wide, and his pupils were dilated to an almost extreme size.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Concerned about his condition, I put my paws around his face and tried to get a closer look at his eyes. In response, Blue tilted his head down, trying to keep his eyes away from mine. Despite the icy water I poured on his face, his cheeks felt burning hot.

"...I can't remember," Blue spoke in a small voice. He pulled away my paws and shook his head, "I suppose I might've had a nightmare, I guess."

"You guess?"

Blue shook his head again and held up his right paw. He directed his eyes toward it, staring at his own arm with an unfathomable expression on his face.

"Is there something wrong with your arm?" I put my paws on his arm and pulled it closer to me, curious as to what he was looking at, "I don't see anything wrong with it."

"Mmh..." He made a thoughtful noise and dropped his arm back to his side, "It's weird... for some reason, I couldn't feel anything in my right arm."

I smirked at Blue and shook my head, "You were leaning on your arm earlier, Blue." I pointed at the stone wall of the fountain behind him, "It probably fell asleep along with you."

"Huh," Blue glanced at his arm again, "makes sense."

"What kind of nightmare did you have?" I asked, wondering about his dream, "Was it scary?"

Blue folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes. For a moment, he fell silent as I assumed he was trying to recall the events in his dream. But, eventually, he opened his eyes and shrugged at me.

"You can't remember?"

"Not a thing," Blue said with a shake of his head. All of a sudden, he smirked and placed his paw on top of my head and began to mess up my fur, "maybe you washed away my dream by spilling all that water over me, Fée."

"Errgh!" Annoyed, I brushed his paws off my head. Now my fur looked all messy and unkempt. Well, it was already really frumpy before, but that was beside the point. I sent him an angry glare as I puffed out my cheeks to show my irritation, "Well it's your fault for being so hard to wake up any other way, Blue."

"Heh, I can't help it," he said as he brushed a water droplet off the top of his muzzle, "what can I say? I'm a heavy sleeper."

I gave him a sly grin and took out one of the berry pots in my pack "Then that means I should prepare water every time you decide to sleep. Otherwise you might just end up snoozing the entire day away."

"I'd like it if you could find some other way to wake me up actually..." Blue grumbled as he eyed the berry pot in my paws. I giggled and gave him a playful shove.

Putting the berry pot back inside my pack again, I looked up into the sky. As I expected, the sun was now hidden behind several puffy clouds, casting a cool shade over the land. If we were going to depart from town, this would be the perfect opportunity. Throwing my pack's strap over my neck, I stood up and stretched my legs.

"Come on Blue, let's get moving," I turned toward Blue, who was still sitting on the ground, yawning. "the sun wont stay cooperative forever. Let's go on our expedition before the temperature rises again."

"I don't know..." Blue had his playful grin on his face again as he struggled to stand on his injured leg, "I rather like the heat. It's a lot better than the cold, in my opinion."

I wormed my way underneath his right arm to support him. I shot him a withering look as he used me as a crutch to stand back up, "That's because your fur isn't as thick as mine." I shook my ruff to emphasize my point, "If you had this thing around your neck, maybe you'd think otherwise." Huffing, I began to drag him away from the fountain and toward the town gates.

He chuckled in response to my plight. He curled his arm around my neck and patted my fluffy ruff, "Why don't you turn into a Sylveon like Barie then?" He suggested with a smirk, "That guy had fur almost as short as mine."

I snorted, "Would you like it if I evolved into something annoying like Barie?" Despite the irritated look on my face, my question to Blue was genuine. Unlike Corphish, who could only transform into a Crawdaunt when his time came, I had much more choices in store for me in the future. And today, I've discovered that my number of potential evolutions have increased by one.

To be honest though, I don't really know what kind of Pokémon I'd like to become when it was my turn to evolve. I remember when I would pore over books on evolution all the time when I was still a young girl. Even now, I can recall word – by – word what the book said.

'I could become tranquil as water, fierce as the raging thunder, passionate as a flame, silent like the darkness, radiant as the light, expansive like nature or steadfast like a glacier.'

But now that I think about it... what was a Sylveon supposed to be? It didn't match up with anything I've ever read in Mr. Mime's library. I held my paw up to my mouth and mulled over what it could be. I never did get a straight answer from Barie earlier. I stuck out my tongue in disgust as I recalled how he acted earlier. Maybe the power of a Sylveon was to be a giant, annoying pest.

"To have you become like Barie, huh...?" Blue's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I glanced up at him and saw him cupping his other paw under his chin. Underneath, I could see a faint smirk present on his blue face.

"You're not seriously considering it, are you?" I grumbled at him, already feeling annoyed.

"Heh... maybe I am," he moved his paw away from his face and onto my head, showing me his smirk in full. He tweaked my right ear, making the ribbon flutter a bit, "you already have a ribbon on your ear. All you need is one more on your chest, and you're halfway there."

"Ha, ha," I gave him a sarcastic laugh as I whapped him in the side with my ears, "if that's the case, you better find me another ribbon."

"I don't think I have enough money for another one," he replied in a serious voice, "you might have to wait a while for that."

"...you're not seriously considering it, are you?" I said again. He sounded like he was actually serious about giving me another ribbon, "I'm fine with just having one, Blue. In fact, I should be giving you something in return."

"In return?"

I nodded, "Since you mentioned money, I assume that you bought this ribbon for me?"

"Uhm..." Blue scratched the back of his head with a sheepish expression on his face. Bingo.

"Well," I spoke with a prideful voice as I flicked my tail up, "I know what I'm doing once we're done with this expedition."

Blue gave me a questioning look, but I ignored it and continued onward. Giggling to myself, I pondered what kind of gift would be best suited for my clueless friend.


	20. Don't you dare threaten our partners!

**• ****  
Chapter 19:**

**"Don't you dare threaten our partners!"**

With the sun safely hidden behind a layter of thick cloud, Blue and I continued our long trek toward the town gates. I acted as Blue's crutch for a portion of way there, wedging myself underneath his right arm and helping him limp across the streets. We attracted some curious onlookers as we traveled. I suppose we did make for a rather interesting sight. After all, it's not every day you see a six – legged, blue and brown – furred Pokémon limp through town!

Aside from the curious bystanders, I noticed that there were a lot of other Pokémon were also heading the same way with us. Furthermore, a lot of these Pokémon were also carrying Explorer's Packs, just like Blue and I.

"Looks like we're not the only explorers out on a journey, huh?" Blue remarked as a regal – looking Stantler trotted by us. A Explorer's Badge was present on the Stantler's chest, while a purple Explorer's Pack was slung around its neck. Following in the Stantler's wake was a couple of green – colored Deerling, all of which were also wearing shining badges and blue - colored packs.

"Looks like it," I grinned at the Deerling as they waved hello to us. From the way their badges gleamed in comparison to the Stantler's, I assumed that they were apprentices, just like we were. On the other hand, the Stantler's badge looked worn, with the color faded and the jewel in the center scratched. The Stantler was probably an experienced explorer sent along with the Deerling to train them. Mild jealously washed over me as I watched the Stantler lead his students toward the town gates.

"They look like a great, big family, don't they?" Blue commented, "I wonder if they're apprentices just like us?"

"The Deerling are," I pointed out, "but that Stantler at the lead is definitely a full – fledged explorer."

Blue raised an eyebrow at me, "Oh? How can you tell?"

I gestured toward the Stantler's pack in the distance, "See his Explorer's Pack? The purple color signifies that he's a graduated member of Kadabra's Guild." I squinted my eyes at the Stantler's retreating back, "I can't tell from this distance, but if we got a close look at his badge, there's probably a symbol engraved on it that shows his status."

"Symbol?" Blue opened his pack and pulled out his own badge. He held it up into the air and narrowed his eyes, "I don't see any symbols on this thing."

I giggled and shook my head at him, "That's because we just got it, Blue." I sat down and pointed at the badge on my ear, "Our rank as explorers increase as we continue our training at the guild. Once we reach a certain level, we become eligible to adventure out on our own, unsupervised."

"We're already doing that though," Blue pointed out. I shook my head and shrugged.

"That's... well I can't really understand why Wigglytuff and Chatot let us go on our own for our first expedition," sighing, I shook my head and shrugged, "I was kinda looking forward to having someone show us the ropes on our first trip out."

"Nah," Blue remarked as he threw his arms behind his head, "we'll be fine on our own. After all, we did get through that cave on the beach without any help, didn't we?"

"True..." I glanced at his right leg and sighed again, "but, it's not like we got out unscathed..."

"Feh," Blue snorted, "I keep telling everyone, it's not a big deal. So what if a rock bug thing bit me? I can hardly feel a thing anyway."

"Don't you remember what Chimecho said? The poison that a Kabuto secretes causes you to lose feeling in that limb eventually. So of course you wouldn't feel anything after a while..."

"Hrm..." Blue wore a pensive expression on his face as he considered my words. He bent forward and rubbed his paws around his right leg.

"Blue?" I asked, confused as to what he was doing. The Riolu shook his head and straightened himself. He then lifted his right leg and wiggled it around in the air, testing it out.

All of a sudden, he released a loud yelp as a look of pain shot across his face. With a quiet whimper, he retracted his leg and hunched back down, clutching it tight with his paws. Worried, I sped over to his side and pulled his pack off his shoulders. I dug around inside his pack for several frantic seconds before I pulled out the small package of Pecha Berries.

"Blue, Chimecho told you to take it easy on that leg," I gave him a reproachful look as I separated one berry from the rest and handed it to Blue. He snatched it out of my paws and gobbled it down, staining the fur around his muzzle bright pink in the process. Afterward, he took a deep breath of relief and leaned back, letting the berry soothe his pain. I let out a sigh and handed him back his pack.

"Are you sure you're alright, Blue?" I asked with a concerned expression of my face, my ears drooping as if to emphasize my worry. This whole time, I had thought his leg was getting better. But after what just happened, I found myself doubting whether or not that was true.

"It's alright, Fée," Blue grunted as he tried to force a smile back on his face, "I was just surprised, that's all. It didn't really hurt."

I groaned. That was such an obvious lie that even a Slowpoke would catch in an instant. Feeling frustrated at his bravado, I bumped him in the side with my head, eliciting a yelp of surprise from him.

"Blue, I'm not going to fall for that," I said, sending an angry glare at his wincing face, "I already know just how injured you are. There's no need for you to act so tough for my sake."

"Ahh..." Blue turned away and scratched his nose in a sheepish way, "I guess I can't fool you anymore, Fée." He moved his paws to the back of his head as he stood up, "I just didn't want you to worry, that's all."

Sighing, I reached up to his face and pawed the side of his muzzle. He really was a fool for trying to assuage me by ignoring his own pain. Still, I suppose I can't really get too angry at him. He was doing it for my sake, after all. For that, I felt a little grateful

"No, I can't accept that." I snagged the sides of Blue's face and pulled it toward me. A surprised look came over the Riolu's face as his red eyes met mine. I scrunched up my face and put on the most confident expression I could manage.

"Bwah?" Blue spoke through puckered lips as I squeezed the sides of his face together.

"There's one thing I learned about you since we've met two days ago, Blue," I said, keeping my gaze trained on Blue, "and it's that you're super strong, and you're super courageous."

"Thanks?"

"But!" I shook my head at his bewildered face, "That's also your biggest problem, I find. You're always jumping into dangerous situations without thinking, and you get hurt badly as a result."

"Remember when we were at the Beach Cave, and we spotted Koffing and Zubat?" I waited for him to nod before continuing, "You leapt straight into battle before even thinking of a plan on how to deal with them. Two on one, Blue. And as a result of that, you got a faceful of poison gas for your troubles!"

"Well... I thought I could handle them on my own," Blue mumbled, averting his gaze. "and I didn't want to involve you in the battle, since they might have tried to target you and hurt you."

In response to what he said, I let go of his face and spun around, giving him a gentle whap with my tail. When I turned back around, he had a surprised look on his face.

"I'm grateful for your consideration then, Blue." I closed my eyes and shook my head. When I opened them again, the confident expression on my face had returned. I reached up with my front paws and placed them on Blue's shoulders. I leaned forward, placing my muzzle close to his and staring right into his eyes, "but I'm no longer the same Fée as before. I want to become stronger, and braver, just like you!"

"That's why," I said in a cheerful voice as a big smile crawled onto my face, "from now on, I'm going to protect you when we go on expeditions! I'm going to make sure you never get hurt again! After all, we're partners! I can't just keep hiding behind you like a coward, Blue!"

"Eh? What do you mean?" Blue had a confused look on his face as he gaped at me. Feeling more and more confident by the second, I released my grip on Blue's shoulders and turned around, giving him a cheerful wave of my tail.

"I meant what I meant!" I said in a haughty voice, "If something dangerous happens, I'll be the one to protect you and keep you safe instead! Even after we find the Panacea and cure your leg, I'm still going to fight for you!"

"Heh," I heard him chuckle from behind me, "it's hard to believe that this is the same Fée that was sobbing out of fear just two days ago. Getting that badge must've really changed you."

"No, it's not because of the badge," I shook my head, letting the ribbons on my ear flutter around my face, "but rather, it's because I met you."

"Me?" He replied, sounding bewildered, "I don't think I did anything special, though."

"Of course you did something special," I turned around to smile at Blue, "you were the one who helped me out when I was at my lowest. You were the one who told me I could be strong. You were the one who supported me as I decided to finally take that first step into the guild."

"Actually, you were the one who helped me into the guild," Blue winked at me as he stuck out his right leg, "remember? I couldn't really walk down the staircase."

I puffed out my cheeks at him in annoyance. It was obvious that he knew what I meant, but he decided to ruin the mood on purpose. I stuck out my tongue at his grinning face and turned around in a huff. Sticking up my tail stiffly into the air, I sped up my gait and left Blue behind.

"H – hey! Fée, slow down! I was just kidding!"

"Hmph!" I flattened my ears down the sides of my face in a deliberate attempt to be uncooperative. Even I had shut my eyes, I could just imagine the flustered look on my friend's face. It felt a little fun to finally have the upper hand against him for once; a little payback for all the embarrassment I felt today.

"...watch out ahead of you...!"

"Eh?" What did he say? It sounded strange through my muffled hearing. I opened my eyes and raised up my ears. A large, blue wall loomed mere inches away from my face. A surge of panic raced through my body as I dug my feet into the dirt in an effort to stop myself from slamming into the wall. Unfortunately, my front paws ended up criss – crossing over each other, making me trip and fall forward, face – first.

_Bam!_

"Geh...!" The texture of the wall was like a huge sheet of sandpaper; it grated my face as I slid down the surface. After a several excruciating seconds, my chest hit the ground with a dull _thump_. I let out a pained whimper as I clutched my glowing face with my paws. It was itchy and covered in scratches. Just what did I run into?

My answer came in the form of a low growling noise from somewhere above me. Just hearing that deep grumble sent a bolt of fear racing through my body. All the confidence and bravery I had worked up earlier was beginning to ebb away, leaving me trembling on the ground with my paws covering my eyes.

"You again... do you get enjoyment from running into others?"

I peeked out from behind my paws. Immediately, I wished I hadn't. A large, scaly dragon – like figure towered over me. The sun shining over his head had covered his face in a shadow.

"I'm s – sorry!" I hastily apologized. As I cowered on the ground, I could feel an odd sense of deja – vu flash through my mind. Didn't something like this happen once already? I tried to remember, but another deep growl from the dragon sent my thoughts flying out of my mind.

"Get the heck away from her!" All of a sudden, Blue's arm came flying in between us. I turned my head to the right and saw my partner standing beside me, panting while glaring at the dragon, "If you want to fight, then I'll be happy to oblige. But I wont let you harm my partner!"

"You think you're some sort of tough guy, Riolu?" The dragon snapped back with a hiss, "Fine then, I've been bored out of my mind waiting here in this sun. I'll take out my frustration on you!"

The blue dragon's stark white talon glinted as he brought it up above his head. Despite that Blue only reached up to the dragon's midsection, he still steeled himself and went into a fighting pose. I saw his eyes wince as he shifted his weight off his bad leg.

"H – hold on, Blue!" In a panic, I pushed myself off the ground and grabbed onto Blue's torso, pinning his arms to his sides. My fear was replaced by worry for his well – being, "You can't fight! You'll make your injury worse!"

"Fée, get out of the way!" Blue shouted as he tried to lift his arms again, but I just tightened my grasp, keeping his arms immobilized. I can't let him fight, I wont let him get hurt protecting me again!

I screwed my face into an angry glare as I turned around and faced the angry dragon. He was huge, covered in rough scales, and had two long arms that were tipped with menacing talon – like claws with two long, blade – like protrusions come out of the sides... hold on a second, where have I seen this before?

"You... Eevee," the dragon hissed and pointed a claw at my face, sending a familiar shiver down my spine, "you sure have a lot of guts to pull this stunt on me again."

Staring down the frighteningly sharp point of that talon jarred my memory. All of a sudden, scenes from yesterday's fiasco at the huge crowd came flooding back into my mind. I know this dragon. I've met this dragon. I even know this dragon's name!

"L – Lazur?!" I gave a startled cry as I took a step back, bumping my tail against Blue's chest. The Gabite gave a snort at my realization, but kept his talon trained on my face.

"I don't remember ever giving you permission to use my name, Eevee," he continued to speak in his threatening voice, "for your sake, I suggest you keep your trap shut and never speak that name again."

"Where's Feldie?" I retorted, "Why are you standing here alone?"

Lazur let out a hiss and inched his talon even closer to my face. I took a deep gulp to calm my screaming nerves. It took everything I had inside of me to stay put in front of such a terrifying sight. Behind me, I could hear Blue snarling as he saw the dragon try to threaten me. No, I can't let Blue fight! I have to think of some way to make him back off!

Steeling my resolve, I glared straight into Lazur's eyes and stated, "Aren't you trying to become an explorer as well, _Lazur?_" Using his name elicited another angry hiss from the dragon. Undaunted, I continued, "Don't you know that explorer apprentices are forbidden from fighting each other?" A faltering look flashed across his face as I dropped that tidbit of information on him. I had to hold back the smirk that was trying to inch its way onto my face. I had a weapon to use against him!

I pointed at the badge present on my ear, "As you can see, I'm an explorer apprentice now! If you lay even a single scratch on my face, I can prevent you _and _Feldie from applying for apprenticeship by simply reporting this incident!" His talon began to wobble as his snarling expression began to slip off his face. Feeling more and more confident by the second, I pressed on, "Didn't you and Feldie want to become explorers? Isn't that why you came to Treasure Town? How would you feel if you had to tell Feldie that you couldn't explore anymore? All because you couldn't let go of a small mistake!"

My words were like an arrow striking right into Lazur's heart. He took step back, his eyes wide and his dangerous arms flopping to his side like rags. He gaped at me with his fanged mouth open wide. He was trying to say something, but the force behind my words had struck him speechless.

"Fée..." I heard Blue say. I felt a slight tinge of warmth on my cheeks when I heard the admiration in his voice. I smiled wide and stared directly at the flabbergasted Gabite. Inwardly, I was cheering as if I had just won a marathon against a thousand other Pokémon. I did it! I stood my ground and made Lazur back off all on my own! I didn't even have to throw a single punch!

"Lazu~ur! I'm back!" All of a sudden, Lazur's face was drained of all its color. The voice came from somewhere behind Blue and I, making us turn around out of surprise. Standing behind us was a small, orange – shelled Pokémon. It was carrying two blue – colored bags in her jagged mouth by the straps. "Eh? Fée? Is that you?"

"Feldie!" I shouted in a happy tone as I rushed over to give the little Trapinch a hug, "It's good to see you again!"

"It's good to see you too!" Feldie replied, "You wouldn't believe everything we went through yesterday!"

"Same here!" I said as I let go of her head, "But we can fill each other in on the details later. How have you been?"

Feldie gave a little prideful chuckle as she swung her head around, making the bags fly forward and land in front of me with a thump.

"Are those Explorer's Packs?" I said, my eyes widening out of joy, "Congratulations, Feldie!"

"Thanks, Fée," she said as she threw one of the packs over her head, "I see you have your own as well – and a badge too!" She pointed at my ear with one of her stubby legs, "It goes well with your ribbon, I like it!"

"Heh heh..." I blushed a little as I pawed Blue's ribbon. Meanwhile, Lazur meandered over to our side with his head hung low. He picked up one of the Explorer's Packs and slung it over his shoulder, completely devoid of any words or emotion. Lazur sent me a desperate look, as if he was begging me to keep my mouth shut about the whole thing. Feldie seemed to have picked up on his mood and sent him a curious glance in return.

"Lazur? What's the matter?" Feldie said, looking concerned, "Does your stomach still hurt? Did you eat something off the floor again?"

"Bwuh?!" Lazur's head snapped up with a start, a blush was forming on his scaly cheeks, "N – no! I didn't!" He pointed a talon at Blue and I, "And don't say stupid things about me in front of others!"

"You ate something off the floor?" Blue said with a mean – looking smirk on his face as he folded his arms. Lazur growled and sent him an angry glare while Feldie sighed and shook her head.

"I thought you'd be happier, Lazur..." Feldie mumbled with her head hung low, "Hasn't it always been our dream to become explorers? Why the long face then?"

"W – what?!" Lazur spluttered as Feldie looked like she was about to cry. He swung his head left and right in a panic as he tried to make sense of the situation."H – hold on Feldie, I'm not being sad about this or anything, I'm happy, see? P – please don't cry!" He put on a big, dorky smile on his face as he tugged on the blue strap around his chest in an effort to pacify the sniffling Trapinch.

At first, I was a little confused about what Feldie was doing, but then I caught sight of her winking at me. I quickly stifled an oncoming rush of giggles as I realized what she was doing. Blue must've realized as well, since I could hear him failing to cover his chuckles.

"I don't believe you!" Feldie said in a hurt voice, "Weren't you the one who spent hours and hours keeping me awake yesterday talking about how excited you were about our first expedition? And now I find you standing here moping and sullen – faced!" She punctuated her words with several loud sniffles.

"E – erm...!" Lazur's face was completely red now. Even though he threatened me earlier, I couldn't help but pity the poor dragon. He had totally fallen into Feldie's trap, and now he couldn't find a way to get out. He was even sending Blue and I panicked looks, as if he was begging us to help him out. Seeing that only made it harder for us to hide our mirth.

"Or were you planning on quitting Team Sands, after all we've been through together?" Feldie said as she tried to cover her teary eyes with her stubby feet. Lazur looked thunderstruck when he heard her say that. Once more, all the color in his face drained, leaving him looking like a spooked ghost.

"S – sorry Feldie..." All traces of his dragon – like pride vanished as he hung his head low in an apologetic gesture. The dragon was completely, and utterly defeated. Feldie sneaked me a toothy smile before turning back to the now – depressed Lazur.

"Apology accepted," her tone made a total turnaround as she ran up to her dragon friend with a cheerful smile on her face. She gave him an affectionate nip in the leg with her jaw, making Lazur wince slightly. "There's no way I would ever give you up as a partner. You're my best buddy, Lazur!"

"S – so you're not mad at me?" Lazur mumbled as he picked up his orange – shelled friend.

Feldie frowned and bit him right on the nose, making him cry out in pain. "Of course I wasn't, you numbskull!" A look of relief appeared on the dragon's face, despite that the Trapinch had his nose in a painful – looking chomp. Feldie let go of Lazur's nose and motioned for the dragon to put her back on the ground. He obliged and the Trapinch turned around to face Blue and I, spitting out several blue scales in the process.

"So Fée," she said, "as you can see, this oaf and I are now partners in exploration for real."

"Hee hee..." I giggled at the prideful look on her face, "well, let me introduce to you my partner, Blue." I pointed at the Riolu standing behind me. Blue grinned and bowed at the little orange Pokémon.

"Eh?" Feldie had a startled look when she saw Blue, "I didn't notice earlier... but your partner... he's a Riolu?"

"Is there something wrong?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

Feldie quickly shook her head. "N – no... it's not that," she glanced at Lazur for a second before turning back to me, "I'm just surprised, that's all." She held up one of her arms and pointed it at Blue, "I've never seen a Riolu before, especially where Lazur and I come from."

"Feh, it's a good thing too," Lazur said, "I've heard nothing but bad things about Riolu anyway."

"_Lazur!_" Feldie turned around and hissed at the Gabite, making him blanch, "Don't say such rude things to a friend!"

"G – guh..." Lazur was taken aback by the Trapinch's angry look, "I'm just saying the truth..."

"I'm sorry for his rudeness," Feldie said, giving Blue an apologetic look, "he doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut sometimes."

"It's alright," Blue said with a shrug, "I'm used to hearing people say things like that about Riolu by now. It's not a big deal."

"Still," Feldie shook her head, "I don't want you to think we believe in all those rumors about Riolu."

"I said it's alright," Blue repeated with a grin on his face, "to be honest with you, I don't even know what these rumors are. So I don't really care about what other people say when it comes to Riolu."

"I see..." Feldie turned toward me, "You have a pretty cool friend, Fée."

"You think so?" I glanced up at Blue. "I guess..."

"What do you mean by that?" Blue said in a mock – hurt voice as he reached down and started tickling my sides.

"Hee hee hee! No, stop! I'm really ticklish there! Heeeee!" I wriggled around in an attempt to escape his fingers, but he just wrapped his arms around my sides and lifted me up into the air. I took the chance to catch my breath from his tickling attack.

"Whew..." I shook my head and tried to twist my neck around to glare at Blue, who was wearing a victorious grin on his face. Sighing, I let my head flop down in defeat. "Alright, alright! You're cool, jeez! Now let me go!"

"Heh," Blue obliged with a short chuckle and put me back on the ground. I whipped him with my tail and turned away from him. Feldie was watching us with an amused look on her face.

"And they say Riolu are unsociable," Feldie remarked, "you two are really good friends. I'm a little jealous."

"He's just a big pain," I replied.

"Oh, I know how that feels," Feldie nodded sagely, her eyes darting to the Gabite standing behind her.

We gave each other a knowing glance as we broke into playful giggles while Blue and Lazur gave us looks of either annoyance or bewilderment. We didn't care though, we were having too much fun laughing at their expense.

"Well, well, well, would you look at that? It's a gathering of fools and idiots!" Feldie and I glanced at each other, our mouths wide open from having our laughter cut short by that sudden remark. I was confused and startled. Who would say such a horrible thing? As I turned around to see who it was, I heard a low growl emanate from Blue's throat.

A trio of orange – red Pokémon were strutting down the road toward us. At the head of the group was a cackling Monferno, surrounded by a drowsy – looking Combusken and a fidgeting Pignite. The Monferno was clutching his belly as he pointed at the four of us. His face was scrunched up in laughter as he continued to cackle at his own words.

"H – how rude...!" Feldie snarled, sounding outraged. I couldn't agree more with my friend.

"Kah, hah, hah!" Monferno let out an even louder cackle right in our faces when he reached our group. His face curled up into a crude sneer as he placed his hands on his hips in a haughty manner while his burning tail whipped side by side, sending sparks scattering around him.

"Monferno..." Blue growled, his paws clenching into fists, "What do you want?"

"I thought I heard the voices of fools and weaklings in the distance," Monferno replied with a smirk, "so I thought I should go check it out. And what do you know? It was you, you stupid Riolu."

"Y – you know each other?" I stared at Blue with my eyes open wide.

"Unfortunately," Blue hissed with a small nod. He pointed a finger at the Monferno, "are you just here to insult us, Monferno? Don't you have anything better to do?"

Monferno cackled again, bending forward while clutching his belly, "Kah, hah, hah! You must be mistaken!" He raised up his head again and held a fist up to Blue's face, just mere inches away from his muzzle, "I don't have time to waste on fools like you!"

"Then what are you here for?" Lazur growled as he held up his talons. Monferno gave the dragon a dismissive look before turning back to Blue.

"Keh, this doesn't involve you, _lizard,_" he spat, making Lazur snarl in fury, "I'm only here to tell this coward one thing."

"Coward?" Blue said, his voice dripping with venom. Monferno's smirk vanished off his face and was replaced by a disgusted – looking frown.

"Don't think you can run from me forever, Riolu." The rude Pokémon tugged at the red strap around his shoulders, making my jaw drop as he revealed his own Explorer's Pack. He shoved his hand inside and withdrew a small, white – colored badge. There was the number 40 inscribed in black ink on the badge. Blue's eyes narrowed when he caught sight of the badge.

"Number 27, a Riolu from Crystal Caves," Monferno sneered as he flung the badge at Blue, "that was you, wasn't it?"

Blue caught the badge in his paws without speaking a word. Monferno continued to leer at my friend, his face was now an angry scowl.

"It was, wasn't it?" He repeated in a louder, angrier tone, "There were no other Riolu around in town, it must've been you!"

"...so what if it was me?" Blue replied in a scathing voice. He threw the badge away and glared at him, "That battle royale's over now. What does it matter?"

Monferno let out a loud screeching noise, making everyone – including the passerby – flinch at the noise. His tail flame exploded as he clenched both of his fists at Blue's remark.

"Of course it matters, you blasted Riolu!" He snarled in a fury, "You were to be my opponent! You were supposed to be crushed under my heel in front of everybody! I was to humiliate you in front of the Guildmaster!"

After releasing that outrageous remark, he grabbed his tail and jabbed it toward Blue, the flame mere inches away from his face. Blue didn't react to the heat, and instead continued to stare down the furious Monferno.

"Not only that, your absence caused Machoke to leave the arena! You ruined my plans to impress the Guildmaster with my amazing fighting skills! Do you know how furious I was when I stood in the center of that arena without an opponent and without the Guildmaster watching me?"

"Not at all," Blue replied bluntly, "I had more important things on my mind at the time."

"I was livid! Filled with rage! Enraged! _Outraged!_"

Monferno swiped at Blue with his tail, attempting to whip his face with the burning end. Blue, however, just leaned his head back and let the burning whip soar past his muzzle harmlessly. Feldie and I both snarled in anger at Monferno's sudden attack. We rushed up in front of Blue and pointed at Monferno.

"That was uncalled for!" I shouted, my fur bristling in anger.

"That's right!" Feldie added, showing Monferno her sharp fangs, "How dare you attack him like that?"

"You two weaklings shut your traps!" Monferno snarled, pointing his tail at us, "Unless you want to have a taste of my flames as well!"

Feldie made an angry hissing noise at Monferno. My own anger was reaching the boiling point as well. He wanted to fight Blue just to make a fool out of him? How petty! I just couldn't believe someone could be so shallow! And he was an explorer too, no less!

I opened my mouth to tell him off, but all of a sudden, a sandy gust of wind blew into my face and interrupted me. As I coughed out the gunk that got into my mouth, I saw two blue shadows move past Feldie and I, separating us from the angry Monferno.

"Don't you dare..."

"...threaten our partners!"

Both Blue and Lazur both taken a heavy step forward, standing in front of Feldie and I. Blue had clenched his paws into fists and held them in front of his chest, while Lazur had bared his sharp fangs and talons. The two of them both had furious expressions on their faces as they pointed their weapons at Monferno, their eyes daring him to move a single step.

"You can threaten me, insult me or hurt me all you want," Blue said in a low voice, "but if you ever lay a hand on my partner..."

"...then I'll make sure you lie at the bottom of the plateau in pieces!" Lazur finished, his eyes glinting with a malicious light.

The sheer intensity of their combined glares made Monferno take a nervous step back. His cocky sneer was wiped off his face by the cooperative efforts of Blue and Lazur.

"I don't care if I lose my badge or if I get barred from exploring," Lazur growled, "as long as I can keep Feldie safe, I'll gladly break any rule in the book!"

"L – Lazur..." Feldie said in an awed voice. I glanced over to Blue. He didn't say anything, but instead, he just nodded in agreement at Lazur's words.

"Keh..." Monferno backed up another step. He looked as though someone had slung a pile of mud into his face. He glanced at his partners and snorted, "Combusken, Pignite. We're going."

"Eh?" Pignite jumped up with a start. Combusken, however, just yawned and shrugged.

"I said, we're going!" Monferno snarled, his face darkened with anger, "We're wasting valuable time playing with these idiots. Come on."

Trembling with ill – hidden rage, Monferno forced his way through, giving Blue and Lazur the evil eye as he walked past us. Pignite and Combusken followed their leader, with Pignite giving us an apologetic look as he did so.

"Hey wait," Blue grabbed onto Pignite's shoulder. The pudgy Pokémon squealed in surprise as Blue held him behind.

"W – what is it? Please don't hurt me, I swear I mean you guys no harm!"

Blue shook his head and gave him a grin, "Don't worry. I just have something for you."

"H – huh?"

Blue rummaged around inside his pack until he took out the small bag of biscuits that Duskull had given us. He shoved the bag into the shocked Pignite's hands and patted his back.

"I heard your stomach rumbling earlier. Did Monferno stop you from eating again?"

"Y – yeah..." Pignite gave Blue a sad nod, "He didn't let Combusken and I eat anything at all during breakfast." As if to emphasize his words, his stomach let loose a loud grumble, "He was really, really mad when you didn't show up to his match yesterday, you know."

"I could tell," Blue said with a grin. He patted Pignite's back again and pushed him toward the rest of his group, "either way, you should get going. You can share those biscuits with Combusken, but don't let Monferno see them. He might get mad."

"Thank you so much, Riolu!" A few biscuits spilled out of the bag as he bowed low at Blue.

"PIGNITE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING STAYING BEHIND? HURRY UP!" Squealing, Pignite hurried to pick up the fallen biscuits. He gave us another quick bow before rushing off to rejoin his group. In the distance, I could see Monferno glowering at us, his tail still searing with fire.

"What an absolute creep," Feldie grumbled as she watched the orange trio disappear through the town gates. "I hope I never see that Monferno again."

"You and me both," I replied, feeling just as angry at them as Feldie was, "that guy was such a jerk. I can't believe he was allowed to become an explorer."

"There's all kinds of explorers out there, Fée," Feldie said sagely, "just like how there's all sorts of Pokémon in the world. After all, that Pignite guy didn't seem too bad."

I nodded at Feldie before turning to Blue, "Come to think of it, where did you meet those three, Blue?"

"It's a long story," Blue said with a shrug, "and not a very nice one. I'll tell you some other time."

"Oh, right!" I slapped my face with my paw, "We should get going before the sun comes back out. Otherwise the heat will be unbearable while we travel."

"You two are heading out on your first expeditions too?" Feldie said.

I nodded, "That's right. And you two are heading out as well, right?"

"Mmhm," Feldie said as she began to walk toward the gates, with the rest of us following her orange – shelled back, "our Guildmaster wants us to experience exploring as soon as possible. He said it's good for newbies to get a taste of what it's like immediately."

"Your Guildmaster?" I eyed Lazur's blue – colored Explorer's Pack with curiosity, "Come to think of it, what guild did you two join?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Feldie said in a smug voice, "We joined Kadabra's!"

I goggled at her, "Seriously?"

"I know, it's a little unbelievable, considering how much of an oaf my partner is sometimes..."

"Hey..." Lazur grumbled as he fiddled with his strap.

Feldie snorted and ignored him, "When we finally arrived at town yesterday, he wanted to go to Machoke's and join their guild." She shook her head and stuck out her tongue, "But when we got there, the entire guildhouse was completely empty. Can you believe it?"

"I can." Blue remarked.

"Anyway, so while we were wondering what we should do, this panicky – looking Sunflora ran up to us with a bundle of wanted posters and asked us to go put them up at Kadabra's guild for them."

"Sunflora!?" I said with a start as I remembered yesterday's events.

Feldie nodded, "Before we could say anything, that Sunflora just shoved a bunch of posters in our – well, Lazur's – arms and ran off. So I thought 'why not?' and we headed off toward Kadabra's."

"What happened then?"

"Well, this guy was super uncooperative the whole time," Feldie jerked her head toward Lazur, eliciting a grumble from the dragon, "but we ended up spending most of the afternoon pasting up posters of some criminal named Drowzee. Well, it was mostly Lazur." The Trapinch stopped to wiggle one of her legs at us, "I can't really do much with these, heh, heh."

"That didn't stop you from 'helping' with your mouth," Lazur remarked with a smirk on his face, "you punctured so many holes in the posters by trying to put them up with your teeth."

"S – shut up..." Feldie blushed as she turned away from the dragon, "you popped several holes in the posters too, remember? With your big, dumb claws."

"Hey!" Lazur growled as he held up his talons, "I can't help it if I have claws instead of paws or hands!"

"Hmph, at least you have arms." The two of them glowered at each other while Blue and I tittered silently behind them.

"So... what happened after you guys finished putting up the posters?" Blue asked, stifling his chuckles with his paw.

Feldie snapped out of her angry stare and replied, "Well, after we stuck up all the posters – the ones without holes anyway – we sat down inside their guildhouse for a break." The Trapinch grinned and held up the strap around her neck, "Then, while Lazur was complaining about doing work for free, who else but Guildmaster Kadabra himself came waltzing out of one of the doorways!"

"Guildmaster Kadabra noticed the two of us just sitting there like a couple'a bums and walked up to us."

"Wow... you must've been really nervous!" I said, "I wouldn't know what I would've done if that happened to me..."

"Probably not what Feldie did," Lazur said as he gave a deep chuckle, "she went totally ballistic and nearly bit my foot off."

"I did not!" Feldie retorted in an indignant voice, her face glowing red, "Well... maybe I was a little nervous, but I did not bite you that hard!"

"Sure, and my leg wasn't aching all day afterward."

"Ergh... _anyway!_" Feldie huffed and turned away from Lazur, "Guildmaster Kadabra asked Lazur and I why we were just sitting around doing nothing at all."

"Which we were."

"And he said that instead of wasting time, we would be better off spending it doing something more constructive. And he handed us a piece of paper with all these test questions written on it."

"It wasn't very hard, and I aced it immediately." Feldie gave a prideful snort, "It was also multiple choice, so all we had to do was pop holes in the paper instead of writing anything down." She bared her sharp teeth while Lazur played around with his talons.

"I've heard that Kadabra's Guild gives out pretty hard examinations," I remarked, "you must be pretty smart to be able to get a perfect score on it."

"Well, what can I say?" The Trapinch gave me a toothy grin, "I'm a Trapinch of many talents."

"Except being able to pick things up," Lazur snarked.

"I'm going to bite you again if you make another remark about my arms, Lazur," Feldie muttered, flashing her fangs at him.

Lazur gulped and closed his mouth. It looks like he really didn't like to be on the wrong end of those sharp teeth. I couldn't blame him. If she could make a Pokémon covered in hard scales flinch with her bite, how bad would it hurt if she bit someone like me? I shuddered just thinking about it.

"Continuing on," Feldie said, turning away from the cowed Gabite, "Kadabra didn't react when we turned in our papers, so I had expected the worst." The Trapinch shook her head, "Especially when Lazur's paper looked more like a Beedrill's hive instead of a worksheet."

Lazur looked away and mumbled something about correcting his answers.

"So imagine my surprise when the Guildmaster exited his office with a pair of Explorer's Packs and matching badges." Trapinch grinned as she plucked her pack's strap, "Lazur's reaction was better though."

"How did he react?" I said, feeling a little eager to hear. Especially since Lazur kept shooting Feldie nervous glances from beside me.

"Well..." Feldie giggled and gave Lazur a wink, "he was so overjoyed that he almost injured poor Guildmaster Kadabra with his talons when they shook hands. When that happened, poor Lazur got so scared that he was going to get kicked out that he begged the Guildmaster to forgive him!"

"F – Feldie...!" Lazur had a horrified look on his face, "You promised that you wouldn't tell anyone about that!"

"Consider it payback for that arm remark earlier," Feldie said, sticking her tongue out at Lazur. The blue dragon sighed and fell silent. The Trapinch giggled again and slowed down her pace so she was walking next to Lazur. She gave him a playful nip on the ankle and grinned, "Oh don't look so down, partner! I was just kidding!"

Lazur picked her up and put her on his shoulder, "You're a serious pain in my side, you know that?"

"Yep!" Feldie smiled and chomped the side of his head, "I wouldn't have it any other way!"

Despite appearances, these two were really good friends, I thought. I glanced over to Blue, who was chuckling at the antics between the two scaly Pokémon. I wondered if we looked like that to others when the Riolu would tease me. Smiling to myself, I shook my head and gave Blue's paw a quick whap with my tail, making him jump up with a start.

"Eh?" Blue said to me, surprised, "What's the matter, Fée?"

"It's nothing," I said, giving the oblivious Riolu a cheerful smile, "nothing at all, partner."

* * *

When the four of us reached the town gates, we halted at a small, wooden gatehouse that was built right next to it. Two Pokémon were sitting inside the tiny wooden hut. One of them, a round, ball – like Pokémon called Electrode rolled out of the gatehouse and stopped in front of us.

"Explorer apprentices, eh?" The Electrode said with a commanding voice. A huge grin was present on the bottom half of his face, the red half, "You know the rules. Badges out."

I sat down and gestured at my badge on my ear while Blue, Feldie and Lazur all took their badges out of their packs. The Electrode rolled side – by – side in front of us, examining each of our badges individually. After he had finished checking the last one – Lazur's – he rolled back to his original spot and turned toward the gatehouse.

"Oi, Chinchou!" He shouted at the hut, "We got two apprentices from Wigglytuff's and two from Kadabra's. Shine'em up, would'ya?"

"Aye!" A sharp voice came out from inside the wooden house, drawing our attention toward it. From within the tiny hut, an even tinier Pokémon flopped out. It was a blue, slimy – looking Pokémon with two yellow antennae sticking out of his head. The Pokémon – Chinchou – bounced over to Electrode and hopped on top of him.

"The four of you, would you please look at me?" Chinchou said, wiggling his antennae at us. We obliged him and looked up. "Good! Try not to blink, now!"

"Blink?" I said, wondering what he meant.

"Yep, keep your eyes open!" Chinchou said in a cheerful voice as he wiggled his antennae, "Now then, on the count of three...! Two...! One...!"

"Gyah!" A chorus of pained cries erupted from the four of us. A bright, blinding light exploded out from Chinchou's antennae, making me blanch and cover my face with my paws. Even through my eyelids, I could still see Chinchou's faint outline.

"W – what was that for?!" Blue said beside me.

"Identification!" Chinchou said, unfazed by the pain he had just caused us, "We can tell who you are by just looking at the shadows behind you when I use flash."

"It's a lot more accurate than just looking at your faces," Electrode added, "after all, some Pokémon are capable of mimicking the appearances of others."

I could make out the silhouette of Chinchou nodding on top of Electrode's head, "That's right. With my flash, I can easily reveal any pesky intruders trying to sneak in or our of town by copying another Pokémon's features!"

"I – I see..." I groaned as I rubbed the shining spots out of my eyes, "That's... pretty clever..."

"Painful, but I suppose if it works..." Feldie said, shaking her head left and right.

"Anwyay, the four of you are cleared to go." Electrode said as Chinchou leapt off his head. The two of them got out of our way and back into the gatehouse, but not before giving us some parting words, "Have a safe trip out there, kids!"

"T – thanks..." I said back at him, my head still a little dazed.

The four of us wobbled our way through the town gates, still recovering from the sudden burst of light. As we made our way down the long slope that connected the great plateau to the land below, I gazed out at the vast frontier that stretched out in front of us.

Trees, hills, mountains, rivers and the sea... The frontier truly is a wondrous place for explorers. Just a few days ago, I could only dream of heading out of town to seek out adventure and explore the lands that lied around me. Now, that dream had become a reality. With Blue at my side, I can finally leave the safety and shelter of Treasure Town and see the world with my own eyes.

I felt my excitement rising with every step I took. Walking down the road, side by side with friends that I'd never imagined that I would have. It was such an unfamiliar feeling to me, but it was a feeling that I cherished. Taking a peek at Blue, I saw him gazing out into the frontier as well. Was he feeling as exhilarated as I was? I sure hoped so.

Lazur and Feldie both wore awed looks on their faces. Lazur had taken Feldie back onto his shoulder, giving her a better look at the world around us from his height. Inwardly, I wished that Blue could do the same to me as well, but I didn't want him to strain his legs by carrying my weight. So I just settled for seeing the world on my own legs.

A wild thought ran through my mind as I saw his arms swing back and forth in a casual way. If I had Barie's ribbons, could I be able to walk with Blue while holding onto his paws? I imagined my ribbons wrapped around my partner's arm as we walked down the slope together. It would be nice, wouldn't it...?

"Looks like this is where the slope ends."

Feldie's voice snapped me out of my daydream. My face flushed red as I quickly dismissed my previous thoughts. Thankfully, it seemed as though no one noticed my embarrassment.

The slope terminated into a large, dirt road that stretched out and away from Treasure Town. I glanced around us as we stood in the middle of the road. It's hard to imagine that, just yesterday, there were hundreds, maybe thousands of Pokémon standing in line right here. As I looked down, I realized that we were surrounded by an unbelievable amount of footprints.

To my right, I recognized the road through the forest that I usually took to go to the beach. Smiling, I turned to Blue and noticed that he was staring at it too.

"There's a crossroads up ahead," Feldie stated as she pointed ahead of us, "it looks like we'll be splitting up sooner than I thought."

"It can't really be helped," I said, my ears flopping down in disappointment, "we all have our own destinations."

"It's alright Fée," Feldie said as she hopped off Lazur's shoulder. She trotted over to my side and gave me a big toothy smile, "I'm sure we'll meet again soon! Who knows? We might even be able to go on an expedition together someday!"

"You're right!" my ears perked up as I clasped my paws together, "We're all explorers now, we can meet each other any time we want!"

Lazur grumbled and folded his arms, "I'd rather do things on my own. There's no need to buddy up with these two, Feldie."

"Oh?" Blue smirked and folded his arms as well, returning the Gabite's stare, "Then you wouldn't mind if we left you home while the three of us went out on an adventure, would you?"

"You try that and you might just find yourself furless one day, _Riolu_..." Gabite threatened, glaring down at Blue.

"My name's Blue," Blue retorted, shrugging, "and there's no way you'd be able to give me a haircut with those toothpicks, _lizard._"

"And my name is Lazur," the Gabite said, holding up one of his talons at Blue, "and I'll show you what these _toothpicks_ can do one day."

"Woah, what a terrifying threat from the _oaf_!" Blue sniggered as he pretended to flinch at the sight of Lazur's claws.

Feldie and I sighed and shook our heads in exasperation as our partners continued to argue and glare at each other. What happened to the camaraderie they showed when they were defending us from Monferno? Easy come, easy go I suppose.

* * *

After a few tense minutes of walking, I noticed that the dirt road was slowly becoming softer and softer. I looked down and realized that the dirt had transformed into grass. The forest that surrounded the town had abruptly stopped, giving way to a massive field of yellow. It was like standing in the middle of an ocean of grass. The fresh, summer breeze blew past us, billowing a wave through the sea of gold.

In the center of the field stood a wizened – looking stone pillar that towered over our group. Even Lazur, the tallest out of all of us, barely reached the halfway point of the pillar. Nailed onto the pillar were a ridiculous amount of wooden slats pointing to different locations into the golden grassland. Feldie and Lazur walked over to the pillar and checked out one of the slats.

"There it is!" Feldie said in a cheerful voice, "This way leads to 'Rugged Ridge!' That's where we're headed!"

"About time," Lazur grumbled in a frustrated tone, but the smile on his face told a different story. "Our teacher must've been waiting there for ages." He wrung his talons together and picked Feldie out of the tall grass.

"So we're heading off this way," Feldie said to Blue and I, "what about you two?"

"Oh... um," come to think of it, we haven't actually looked at the letter Duskull handed us yet. We don't even know the name of our destination yet.

"It's a secret," Blue answered for me, "our Guildmaster told us to keep our mouths shut about it."

"I see..." Feldie looked a little disappointed, but her smile quickly returned to her face after a moment, "Well, if your Guildmaster said so, then I guess it can't be helped!"

"I'm sorry Feldie," I said, shaking my head at her, "I'd love to tell you, I really do!"

"Don't sweat it, Fée!" Feldie replied, "It's not a big deal."

"Feldie, let's get moving," Lazur said, jerking a talon over to their destination. Feldie nodded, giving Lazur permission to take the two of them away toward their destination.

"Take care!" I shouted after them, waving my paw at the retreating orange and blue pair. Feldie turned around on Lazur's shoulder and waved back at me.

"You too, Fée!" She shouted, "And Blue! Don't you let her get into any trouble, okay?"

"Of course!" Blue replied with a wave, "I'll keep her safe, don't worry!"

"H – hey, that's my line!" I gave Blue a playful nudge with my paw. I turned back to Feldie to say goodbye again, but the two of them had already vanished into the sea of gold. Smiling, I turned back to Blue and sighed. "Well, they're gone."

"Then it's our turn to depart," Blue grinned as he rubbed my head, "come on Fée, let's crack open Duskull's letter and get going."

"Alright," I couldn't help but giggle at his enthusiasm as I pulled my bag off my neck, "let's take a look, shall we?"

Reaching inside my pack, I groped around until I felt Duskull's letter buried underneath a length of rope. Taking care not to tear the fragile paper, I pulled it out and held it in front of Blue and I. After taking a quick glance around us to make sure there were no one else around, I unfolded his letter.

"Well, what does it say?" Blue urged, sticking his muzzle next to mine as he tried to read the letter, "Come on, tell me!"

"Hold on," I blushed as I pushed his face away from the letter, "his writing's a little fancy, give me a second to try and read this..."

Duskull's writing was loopy and elegant, completely unlike the more plain way most Pokémon write. Furthermore, it wasn't just a single word or two that told the name of the place, but rather, it was a series of directions. However, at the very bottom of the letter were three, very distinct words.

"The Forlorn Forest..."

* * *

A cool breeze blew through the tall trees, rustling the canopy of leaves that served as the forest's ceiling. One unfortunate leaf found itself carried away by the breeze, sending it on a trip through the shadowy wood. The leaf flew in between the thick, gnarled tree trunks and through several spindle – like branches as the whimsical wind continued to whistle through the forest.

All of a sudden, a delicate, white – furred hand reached up and plucked the leaf out of the mischievous breeze's clutches, cutting its voyage through the forest short. The leaf's new owner held it in front of its face and stared at it with a curious gaze. After a moment, the Pokémon lowered its arm. It let the breeze pass through it, its yellow fur bristling in the cool wind. After a moment, the gale stopped, leaving the Pokémon alone in the middle of the silent forest once more.

"Hmm... that was quite a refreshing breeze, wouldn't you say so?"

The Pokémon nodded as it held on to the leaf with both its hands.

"What do you think it means, my dear?"

The Pokémon shook its head and glanced up at the forest's leafy canopy. A glimmer of worry sparkled in its eyes as it stared at the multitude of leaves above it.

"Do not fret. It was not an ominous wind, but a gentle zephyr carrying no woe."

It brought down its head and shook it.

"My, you're still worried?"

The Pokémon glanced down at the small leaf in its white - colored hands. It wasn't moving, as the wind had long flown past them.

"A single fallen leaf does not an ill omen make, my dear child. Do not be so frightened by trifling things."

It whimpered quietly.

"...alright. If it will ease your fear, I shall keep watch for any danger for you."

Nodding, the Pokémon held up the tiny leaf in its hands up into the air.

"Hm, hm... why don't you take care of that darling little leaf? You can add it to your collection back at the house."

It responded with a gleeful cheer and gave a deep bow before skipping off into the thicket of trees. The Pokémon kept a firm grip on the leaf, but not too tight. After all, it didn't want to damage its precious leaf.

An ominous wind? An ill omen? To the Pokémon, just hearing these words were a cause to worry. But, it knew that it did not need to be afraid. After all, it had a wonderful guardian protecting it. As long as it stayed in the forest, there was nothing to fear.


	21. Believe in me!

**•   
Chapter 20**

**"Believe in me!"**

As we followed Duskull's instructions, I asked my partner to hold up my Treasure Map for me. I scanned the detailed atlas of the frontier, keeping my eyes peeled for any sign of a forest labeled 'Forlorn Forest.' After several fruitless minutes of searching, I sighed and shook my head. Considering how secretive the Guildmaster and Duskull made the place sound, it really shouldn't surprise me that I couldn't find it on our map.

I pawed at the map and pulled it out of Blue's grasp. Taking care not to damage it, I rolled it up and stuffed it back inside my pack while feeling disappointed and frustrated at the same time. Not only were we being sent to a mysterious, unmarked location out in the frontier, but we weren't even given any sort of guide by the guild. Yes, I was excited to finally be able to go out on an adventure, but at the same time I couldn't help but feel worried about what sort of dangers we might end up facing.

I sneaked a peek at Blue's scarred leg. He had eaten another Pecha Berry before we set off from the signpost, so his gait wasn't as strained as before. In fact, he was walking in such a carefree way that I could barely even tell he was injured. He was even chewing a long blade of grass in his mouth.

All of a sudden, I felt a warm paw on top of my head, making me look up at him. As always, he had that same confident grin plastered over his muzzle. Smiling back at my partner, I made a silent promise to myself. No matter what happens, no matter what kind of dangers we face. I wont run away and hide.

"What are you thinking about, Fée?" Blue asked.

"It's nothing," I replied with a playful wag of my tail, "I was just wondering what kind of place Forlorn Forest is like."

Blue took his paw off my head and rubbed his chin. He closed his eyes and made a 'hmmmm'ing noise, looking like he was thinking hard about the question.

"Well... it's called the Forlorn Forest..." He said in a completely serious voice, "so... it must have a lot of trees, right?"

I gaped at him, flabbergasted. "That's... usually what a forest is, Blue."

"Oh."

"Goodness..." I slapped a paw on my face and shook my head, incredulous, "You're unbelievable sometimes, Blue."

He made a bark – like laugh and patted my head again. "Well, I hope you don't mind that your partner is an idiot!"

"Nah," I took his paw off my head and smiled at him, "I don't mind it at all." I shot him a sly look as I nibbled one of his fingers, "After all, it gives me an excuse to sit you down and drill some knowledge into that thick head of yours."

"I'm looking forward to it," Blue chuckled as he pulled his paw away from my mouth, "maybe you can teach me how to read sometime."

"Oh, I'm thinking about it." I smirked as I nudged him in the side with my paw, "Mark my words, Blue. I will make you literate before the summer ends!"

As we crested the top of a rather large hill, Blue and I decided to take a seat and rest our tired feet for a moment. While Blue was busying himself with another Pecha Berry, I took a look back at how far we've traveled.

The Great Plateau, with Treasure Town sitting on top of it, was merely a speck in the distance. The grasslands from before had shrunk into the horizon. It resembled a long string made out of gold, separating the earth below from the vast skies above.

The world was so amazing. As that one phrase went through my head, I couldn't help but nod in agreement with it. Minutes of silence passed by as I stood there in silence, just admiring the breathtaking view from atop the hill. The sky, the sun, the mountains and the trees... I wanted to take it all in and keep this view inside my memory forever.

"Hey, Fée," Blue nudged me with his paw, breaking me out of my reverie. I turned to face my friend and saw that he was pointing at something out in the distance. "look over there."

My eyes traveled along the length of his arm until I found what he was pointing at. Past a winding river and over several grassy knolls, there stood a pair of tall, craggy cliffs jutting out the side of a mountain. At first glance, it appeared to look like nothing more than a nondescript – but very pretty – cliffside. But, as I narrowed my eyes to get a better view, I noticed something strange jutting out in between the cliffs.

"Are those.. trees?"

If they were trees, then those were the largest trees I've ever seen in my entire life! Sticking out from in between the two jagged cliffs was a copse with incredibly tall and massive trees. They were so tall that they pierced into the sky like a series of gigantic, wooden spears. A layer of thick, dark green leaves canvassed the top of the forest, forming a vast and bushy roof. From a distance, it resembled a strong, stalwart castle that was built by nature itself.

I quickly turned to Blue and tugged at his paw, "Let's go get a closer look!" We shared a nod and set off toward the fortress of wood.

It didn't take long for Blue and I to descend the hill and wander our way over to the forest. We crossed the flowing river and snaked our way in between the grassy hills. Before long, the two of us found ourselves standing before the massive towers of wood. The trees looked large from a distance, but the sheer magnitude of their size really sank in when standing up close like this.

The tree trunks were thicker than any other tree I had ever seen before. Not only that, the trees grew so close to each other that they formed a natural border between the forest and the world outside. At the center of the trunk, just above the roots, there was a large, swirling knothole. I placed my paw against the bark. It felt tough and solid. For a moment, I thought I was touching a boulder instead of a tree.

Blue knocked against the tree trunk with the backside of his paw. It made a deep, echoing sound like a big drum. The sound bounced off the other trees as it traveled deeper into the forest, going _bong... bong... bong..._. Nervously, I wandered around the massive trunk and peered through the tiny sliver of space in between the trees.

The canopy of leaves that made up the ceiling of the forest stifled out any sort of light coming from the sky. However, several slivers of sunlight managed to eke through the leafy shield, casting a dim light into the wood in the form of tiny, golden beams. Furthermore, dotting all around the base of the trees were stubby little mushrooms that illuminated the ground with an eerie, blue glow.

Taking a deep gulp, I took another look at Duskull's letter. There was no doubt in my mind that this was the place. Everything I saw beyond the wooden ramparts matched the description he had written down... glanced at Blue, who was eying the shining mushrooms inside with an interested expression. My sight drifted down to his right leg, and then back up at his face.

A surge of confidence rushed up inside my body. I sat up straight and puffed out my chest. Remembering what Sunflora and Loudred did the day before, I placed my right paw over my ruff and stared directly at the forest ahead. After taking a deep breath, I gave myself a quick nod.

"Ahem!" I cleared my throat loudly, startling my partner and drawing his attention. I closed my eyes and said in a commanding voice, "Inside there somewhere is the legendary Panacea! On my honor as a member of Wigglytuff's Guild, I vow to retrieve it and use it to heal my friend!"

"What was that about?" Blue asked as I opened my eyes. I got back onto my feet and turned to face the forest with a smile on my face.

"I'll let you figure out that one on your own," I said with a teasing tone. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Blue tilting his head in confusion. I shook my own head as I stifled a giggle that was threatening to escape my lips.

I looked back at the forest that loomed high above us. With the outer trees growing so close to each other like an impenetrable wall, trying to squeeze in between the tree trunks was an impossibility. I scanned around the sides of the trees, hoping to find a space that was wide enough for Blue and I to pass through.

"Maybe I can bash a hole in this tree with my fists."

I turned around and saw my partner holding his fist against the bark on one of the trees. Sighing, I trotted over to him and pushed his paw down to his side.

"The trees are tougher than stones," I told him, "you'll probably break your bones if you tried."

"Geh... that would be bad."

I shook my head again, "Of course it would! I already told you, I don't want to see you getting hurt anymore while you're with me!"

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry," Blue scratched the back of his head and shrugged, "but it still doesn't really solve our problem of actually entering the forest though."

"Yeah..." I had to agree with him. Even though we were here, we still couldn't find a way inside! What a horrible joke!

"There has to be a way in," Blue said as he folded his arms, "if Duskull and Chatot both directed us here, then that means they've definitely been in there before."

He had a point. Looking up at how high the trees were in the sky, I doubted that even a flying Pokémon like Chatot could just soar up into the air and down into the forest. Duskull, on the other hand, looked like he might be able to squeeze in through the gaps with ease. All of a sudden, an image of a flattened Duskull floated into my mind. I quickly slapped my paws over my mouth to stop an oncoming rush of giggles.

"Do you think Duskull's letter might have a hint or something?" Blue said, "Maybe there's a secret entrance that only he knows about."

"Let me take a look," I coughed and pulled out the letter from my pack. I pored over the loopy handwriting, going over every line and looking for any hints I might've missed.

The first few sentences detailed how to get to here from the crossroads, and the next few talked about what we should be keeping our eyes out for while we were traveling. Then, in the last section, he wrote about what would be inside the forest once we got there, and the directions toward the Panacea.

I narrowed my eyes and focused on the sentences between the second and last sections. There was a gap between his directions. My eyes were a blur as I read over the same lines over and over again in a rapid pace. It reminded me of trying to finish reading a book before Mr. Mime had to close his library. The words on the letter appeared to fly off and leap into my head as my eyes passed over them.

Then, as I went over the last sentence for the tenth time, I found something odd. Right there, in the place where he wrote the name of the forest, there were a few faint lines added next to the word 'Forlorn.' At first, I had thought that it was just a quirk of his fancy handwriting, but the markings were much too clear and distinct to be just a fancy embellishing.

As I held the letter up to the sun, the markings became clearer. A few lines appeared to bleed into view on the left side of the letter F in 'Forlorn.' Slowly, the letter F transformed into an H, while the letter W materialized to its left.

"W...whorlorn?" I muttered, confused. It wasn't a word I recognized. In fact, it didn't seem like a word to me at all. I rotated the letter left and right, hoping that I might find something that will explain it to me.

"What did you find out?" Blue said as he placed a paw on the letter. I shook my head and rotated the letter again.

_Scriip!_

A ghastly noise rang out as I turned the page. My eyes widened as I saw a huge chunk of words just vanish from the letter. Horrified, I pulled the letter away and stared through the hole. The remaining paper scrap was held within Blue's paw, flapping feebly in the wind while he stared at it with an astonished look on his face.

"B – B – Blue!" I gasped, "W – what did you do?!"

"I didn't know you were going to turn the letter!" Blue shot back, waving the scrap around in the air, "It wasn't my fault!"

Shaking my head, I glared at him and shouted, "You shouldn't have grabbed onto it so tightly! Now what are we going to do?"

"It's only a small piece," Blue said as he shoved the piece of paper at me, "just stick it back and we can still read it!"

"Alright, give it here then."

I motioned for him to give me the scrap. But as he was moving his paw over to me, a sudden breeze soared in between us. I let out a yelp of surprise as I saw the paper chunk fly out of Blue's paw.

"No!" I shouted in horror, "Hurry, catch it before it gets carried away!"

Blue and I rushed after the scrap, which was fast approaching the wall of trees that made up the forest. My partner let out a snarl as he leapt forward with his paw outstretched. Unfortunately, right as his paw neared the floating piece of paper, another gust of wind blew by and made the paper scrap dance away from his grasp. It circled around in the air, almost as if it was taunting us, before it slipped into the forest through the tight gaps between the trees.

"Gah!" Blue growled as he tried to chase after the scrap, but the gap was too tight for him to fit his arm through. Disappointed and frustrated, he slammed his fist against the tree, dislodging a few leaves and making them fall from the canopy above.

Sighing, I shook my head and sat down. I held up what was left of Duskull's letter and stared at it with a sad look. A whole third of the letter had just vanished from sight, and with it, a large portion of his directions. I stared at the bottom of the letter, where he had written down the name of the forest. More than half of the name was gone, and all that was left was the word 'Whorl.'

Wait.

'Whorl?'

I felt something click inside my mind. My eyes snapped over to the large knothole present on the tree trunk. I quickly stood back up and rushed over to the tree. My heart was racing now. If the word meant what I think it does... then that means...!

"Aha!" I gave a happy shout as I examined the knothole. There were spiral markings all around the sides of the hole, giving it the appearance of a large, wooden whirlpool. I stood up on my hind legs and gazed into the dark, wooden aperture. To my surprise, it was pretty roomy inside of it. There was just enough space for me to reach a paw inside.

As I groped around inside of the knothole, I felt several old, dried up leaves crunch underneath my prying paw. There must've been an immense amount of debris left inside here, I thought. I wasn't going to get anywhere unless I cleaned it out.

Giving myself a quick nod, I dropped down onto my feet and began to fill my lungs with air. Once I had collected a good amount of air, I reached up and shoved my puffed – up face into the knothole. Then, I exhaled as powerfully as I could.

Leaves, gunk and wood chippings swirled around my face as they tried to escape from the knothole. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the small whirlwind I had created to die down.

"Fée?!" I heard Blue's incredulous voice somewhere to my left. I held back the desire to grin at him. I must've looked like I went crazy, sticking my head into holes in trees.

Taking my time to catch my breath, I brushed a few stubborn leaves and chippings off my face. Then, I looked back inside the hole. It was much cleaner now that there weren't quite as many leaves and junk filling up the insides. I took my paw and stuffed it inside the hole again, hoping to find something inside.

My eyes lit up when my paw collided with something hard at the bottom of the knothole. Feeling around it, it seemed to be something small and circular, like a button. Excitement bubbling up inside of me, I patted around inside the hole. To my frustration, my paw just barely fell short of reaching the button. Not to be deterred, I placed my hind legs against the tree's rough bark and tried to scrabble up in a desperate attempt to climb up and give myself more leverage.

All of a sudden, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my midsection. One second later, I was lifted up in to the air, my legs kicking at the wind. I spun my head around with my eyes open wide.

"This should make it easier on you," Blue said with a grin on his face. He adjusted his grip on my belly, making me shiver a little. Blushing furiously, I turned my eyes away from him and went back to my original task. Now that my friend was helping me up into the air, reaching inside the knothole was an easy task. With a triumphant air, I stuck my paw inside the hole and slammed it down on the button.

At first, nothing seemed to happen. We just stood there with eager, awaiting looks on our faces, which quickly transformed into bewilderment. I looked around, wondering if I had done something wrong. Then, right as I thought that, a loud rumbling noise rang out from the tree in front of me.

"Eep!" I yelped as the tree began to shake up and down as if it was about to fall over. Blue tightened his grasp on me and backed us away from the rumbling tower of wood. Leaves began to fall down from the sky in a deluge of green.

Then, the most unbelievable thing happened. Blue and I could only gape in absolute incredulity as the tree began to uproot itself. It rose into the air by it's own power, inch by inch. The tree's thickset roots popped out the ground with incredible force, uplifting the grass around it and sending dirt splattering all over the place. I clung tightly to Blue's shoulders, afraid as to what was going to happen next.

With a loud groan, the tree halted its ascent and froze. It was now hovering a foot above the earth, supported by its powerful roots. Blue continued to carry me as he cautiously walked over to the now – floating tower of wood. Taking a closer look at the base of the tree, I noticed that there was now a sizable tunnel that went underneath the tree's stump. It was just large enough to fit Blue and I, assuming we were crawling.

"You did it, Fée!" Blue said in a cheerful voice, "You found the entrance!"

"E...eh?" I stuttered back. I was still reeling from the incredible event that just happened, but a sudden tightening around my waist snapped me out of my reverie. My face burned up again as I realized that my partner still had his arms wrapped around me. Panicking out of sheer embarrassment, I I wriggled and struggled within his grasp.

"H – hey, careful!" Blue said as I kicked out with my legs. For some reason, he continued to hold me tighter instead of letting go, which only made my cheeks burn even hotter. I let out a little yelp as leaned my upper body forward, intent on slipping out that way.

"Woah!"

"Eek!"

Unfortunately, it didn't work as I had hoped. Instead, Blue lost his balance and sent the two of us toppling forward. I tumbled and rolled like a little furry ball before skidding to a halt in front of the entrance. Groaning, I shook my head and staggered my way back onto my feet.

"Jeez... what was that all about?" I heard Blue groan. I tilted my head around, watching my partner pick himself off the ground out of the corner of my eye. He caught my gaze and shot me a questioning look.

"It's... it's nothing, okay?" I said, turning my red face away from him. Determined to keep my face out of sight, I angled my head down and pointed at the tree, "C – come on, the way is clear. Let's get moving!"

"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked in a worried voice. I shook my head and pointed my tail up in the air.

"I'm fine, completely fine! So let's go!" I shouted back in a voice more forceful than I had intended.

"Well, alright then." Was his reply. He didn't sound all the way convinced, but he shrugged anyway.

Shaking my head for the third time, I strutted up to the base of the tree and peered into the newly – formed tunnel. It was mushy and a little dirty, but I slid through it regardless. To my surprise, when I reached the bottom of the tunnel, I found that it was much roomier than I had imagined. In fact, the tunnel was deep enough for me to stand up fully.

"Geh... it's a little cramped," Blue grumbled as he slid down into the tunnel after me. Glancing back at him, I saw him try to stand up, only to quickly duck back down as his head smacked against the wooden ceiling.

Giggling, I bent my body low and said to him, "Why don't you try crawling? You'll have less of a headache that way."

"I suppose I don't really have a choice..."

Blue let loose a reluctant sigh and dropped down onto his arms. Feeling my prior embarrassment fade, I stifled my giggles and continued my way through the earthy passage with my friend crawling after me. At the other side of the tunnel, I could see a faint, blue glow illuminating the exit.

Excitement was tingling throughout my body as we entered the cool, shady forest. We found ourselves standing within a beautiful wonderland. Trees of all shapes and sizes stretched up around us like great pillars of wood. Long, spindly branches protruded from the sides of the trees, forming complex arches over our heads.

As Blue and I walked through the wood together, I bent down and poked one of the glowing mushrooms beside us. To my delight, the little thing swelled up and released a cloud of shining specks of light into the air. I watched in awe as sparkles danced around in the air, casting a wondrous blue glow around us.

"Incredible...!"

Smiling, I reached up and pawed at one of the sparkles. It stuck onto my fur with ease. I withdrew my paw and held it up to my face, where it continued to glow. It was like I had a bright, shining star within my grasp. I looked over to my right and saw Blue also trying to catch one of the specks. He swept his arms through the air at a high speed, trying to catch as many as he could. Unfortunately, all he managed to accomplish was create a small whirlwind of light around him.

He grumbled as he withdrew his paw. Every sparkle he tried to snag ended up dodging his paw, leaving him speckless. I giggled as he tried again, this time spinning both of his arms like a frantic windmill. After a few seconds of crazed spinning, Blue dropped his paws to his knees, panting. Not a single speck was present on his fur at all.

"Here, Blue," I offered him my little shining dot, "you can have mine."

"Heh..." Blue shook his head as he pushed me away, "you hang on to that. You can light the way with that."

"I have a better idea," I said with a mischievous giggle. I reached up and stuck the speck on his muzzle, making him look like he had a shining nose. "there. Now we have a walking lamp post!"

Blue tweaked his nose, making the little sparkle jitter, "Well, at least you have an easy way to find me if we ever get separated."

After sharing a happy laugh, we decided to leave the sparkling clearing behind and continue our trip deeper into the forest.

* * *

Deep within the forest, a solitary figure peeked out from behind one of the colossal trees. Standing on two black – furred legs, the Pokémon slipped out of her cover and gazed into the forest as she stood in the middle of a clearing. A few minutes had passed since that terrifying rumbling noise had stopped. She clutched the hem of her yellow, skirt – like fur and bit her trembling lip.

She knew the meaning behind that noise. It meant that the great barrier that protected her safe haven had been breached. Fear raced through her body as she realized that foreigners were probably walking around the forest as of this instant.

The Pokémon wandered up to one of the trees around the clearing and wrapped her white arms around it. She closed her eyes and hugged it tight as panicked questions swam through her terrified mind: Who were they? Why did they come here? Are they enemies? What should she do?

"My dear child, what are you doing?"

A sudden gust of wind blew through the clearing, carrying with it an elderly, tired – sounding voice. When she heard the voice speak, the Pokémon dislodged herself from the tree and turned around, a smile forming on her face. There, floating in the center of the forest clearing, was a swirling mass of purple. With tears of relief welling up in her eyes, the Pokémon ran up to the ethereal whirlpool and held her arms out wide.

"Please, dry your eyes. I am here, my little Braixen, there is no need for you to fret."

The purple swirl slowly coalesced into the shape of a tall, wispy – looking specter. A wide brimmed 'hat' adorned the top of the specter's head. While everything below the specter's face was shrouded in a translucent, purple cloak. A trio of red gems gleamed brightly above the cloak, casting a dull, scarlet light around the Pokémon.

The Braixen let out a cry of joy as she rushed up to the specter. She threw her arms around it, pulling the cloaked Pokémon into a happy embrace. The specter returned the gesture by wrapping her cloak around the Braixen's body.

"There, there," the specter said, holding her dear child close, "let it all out. You can tell your old Mismagius everything once you're feeling better."

The Braixen hiccuped and pulled away from her grandmother, wiping her tears away with her white arms. She gazed up at the Mismagius' crooked smile and felt a sense of relief wash over her. With a nod, she held her hands over her chest and closed her eyes. She dredged up her memories from earlier.

The yellow – furred Pokémon was sitting in the middle of the clearing, searching for more fallen leaves to add to her little collection back at home. When all of a sudden, the ground began to tremble while a horrible roar erupted from somewhere within the forest. Terrified, the Braixen could only cower and huddle against a tree until the noise and quake stopped.

"I see..." Mismagius stated with a small shake of her head, "that was a dreadful noise, wasn't it, my dear?"

The Braixen nodded and clasped her hands together over her chest, trembling.

"It's been quite some time since we've had visitors in the forest. I was just as surprised as you were when I felt the barrier lift."

Mismagius floated a few inches up into the air and narrowed her eyes. Not many Pokémon in this world know of this forest in which they called their home, and even less know of the secret to bypassing the natural barricade that protected them from the outside. Only three individuals came to Mismagius' mind as to who could be the culprit. If it was one of the three, why would they return now? Or perhaps... could it be someone other than them?

As she was mulling over the identity of the intruders, she felt a sudden tug at the hem of her cloak. Looking down, she saw her dear child staring up at her with a scared look in her eyes. With a smile, Mismagius floated down and embraced the Braixen to comfort her.

"Be still, my dear Brin..." She whispered into her daughter's ear, "There is nothing for you to fear. For as long as I am still with you, I will not allow anybody to harm you ever again."

As she hugged her precious charge, Mismagius glanced over to the trees behind Brin, her soft, caring expression hardening. In her mind, she sent a single command into the woods.

'Oro, you know what to do.'

A rustle of leaves returned as a reply. With a nod, Mismagius took her cloak and swept it over Brin and herself. One moment later, the two of them had vanished into the shadows.

* * *

As we traveled farther into the forest's depths, it became evident that the trip wasn't going to be a relaxing jaunt. The ground was uneven and rugged. Oftentimes, we found ourselves climbing over fallen logs or ducking under overgrown roots. Not only that, the ground itself proved to be quite difficult to walk on as well. I had to keep my eyes trained on the floor as we walked, I didn't want us to have our feet get caught by stray roots or slip on a patch of moss.

Every few minutes, I couldn't help but sneak a glance back at my partner. While we started our trip walking side – by – side, he ended up lagging behind due to his weakened leg. Whenever I turned around though, Blue would quickly hide his exhausted expression with a grin. Despite that, he couldn't hide how drenched with sweat his brow was, or how ragged his breathing was becoming.

"Blue... let's take a rest." I said.

"Hm? Are you tired, Fée?"

I shook my head, "No, but you..."

"Then let's keep going." He replied with a dismissive wave of his paw.

This exchange repeated several times as we trekked through the forest. Blue was so stubborn. No matter what I said or how I tried to convince him to rest, he would just shake his head and soldier on.

The wall of trees that lined the side of the road appeared to be widening as we continued down this road. I narrowed my eyes as I gazed ahead. There was an unmistakable glint of gold shining in the distance. It must be a beam of sunlight, I assumed. If it was, then it might be a nice place to try and convince Blue to take a rest.

"Blue, I see something shining up ahead," I announced back to him, "it looks like sunlight."

"Really?" Replied Blue, "Do you see anything else?"

"No, just the light."

"Hm... alright."

"Do you want me to go ahead and scout it out?"

Blue shook his head, "No, let's go together. It'll be safer that way."

I nodded at him and stood still, waiting for him to catch up to me. Once he was beside me again, I crawled underneath his right arm and held up his body.

"You don't have t–"

I covered his mouth with my paw and shot him a stern glare. "I might not have to, but I _want_ to. So stuff it and let's go."

Blue let out a muffled sigh and drooped his shoulders down in defeat. He gave me a sideways grin as he shook his head.

"Mmph." He mumbled as he pointed at his mouth, "Mmph mph, mpph."

"Oops..." A little red in the face, I pulled my paw off his mouth. He took a deep breath and sighed.

"Alright," he said again, this time in a much more understandable tone, "let's go, Fée."

Without any more objections from my stubborn partner, we set off toward the shining light ahead. I couldn't help but make a little victorious huffing sound as I helped ease the weight off his injured leg. If only he was this easy to convince all the time!

"What's the matter?" He said, craning his head to give me a curious look.

"Oh... nothing," I replied in a sing – songy voice. The edges of my lips were curling up into a sly smile as I started to hum a little ditty. Blue still had a suspicious look on his face, but he didn't say anything, so I just continued to act as his little singing crutch.

After a few minutes of six – legged walking, we finally reached the place where I saw the shining light. As I expected, the beam of light came from an opening in the canopy above. The wall of trees that had surrounded us before had parted away to form a large, circular clearing around the ray of sunlight.

As we entered the clearing, the first thing I had noticed was that the sunbeam was shining on something odd. In the center of the room stood a single tree, all alone and separated from its brethren. A small circle of made out of rocks surrounded its base like a protective wall.

Despite that it was just a tree, I couldn't help but feel that it looked sad and lonely. Its bark was all torn up and wrinkled, while dark, jagged cracks circled its trunk. There were only two branches worthy of note on the tree, and even then, the branches were gnarled and crooked. It looked as though they would be blown off by a stiff breeze.

"It looks like it'll be pretty warm over there," Blue observed as he pointed at the wizened tree, "we can lean against that tree and take a rest."

While I did hold a few reservations about sitting down next to such a creepy looking thing, I had to admit that the warm sunlight looked really inviting. After our long trek through the cold and dark forest path, I could use a little bit of warming up in the sun.

"Sure thing," I said, "but you're not allowed to go to sleep."

"Eh?" Blue said as we began to walk toward the tree, "Why not?"

"Because," I replied with a shake of my head, "there's no water around here. I haven't figured out a way to rouse you without water yet."

"...am I really that heavy of a sleeper?"

"Yes. Yes you are."

Blue let out a chuckle as he patted me on the head. I responded with a grumble and whapping him in the side with my ears.

As we entered the golden beam of light, I felt myself being enveloped in a wonderful feeling of warmth. I felt a sense of happiness and contentment wash over me as I laid down in the soft grass. I let the sunlight embrace me as I let it slowly thaw out my chilled fur. Blue was wandering around the decrepit tree, eying it with interest. He picked up one of the rocks on the ground and knocked it against its crusty bark.

_Thok, thok..._

It made a dull, echoing noise. It sounded unlike the noise that the other tree made earlier. I glanced up at the tree's flaky exterior, my curiosity was piqued. I wondered, was it a hollow tree? My eyes drifted over to the gnarled branches protruding from the trunk. There were a few leaves remaining on the wood.

If that's the case, then the tree must be alive, right?

Confusion was growing inside of me as I continued to puzzle over the strange tree. Blue walked over to my side and sat down. He threw his rock away into the distance. He must've gotten bored of playing with it. My partner yawned and dropped down to his side, resting his head against this paw. Feeling a little tired as well, I closed my eyes and shoved my curious musings about the tree out of my mind.

_Thok, thok..._

One of my ears flew up in response to that sound. Was Blue knocking against the tree again? Well, it didn't matter if he was still a little curious. I ignored it and let my ear droop down again. The sunlight felt so nice... it made me want to take a little nap...

_Thok, thok..._

Once again, I was jarred out of my reverie by that annoying noise. One of my eyes shot open in frustration. My mouth opened to send Blue an angry retort, but I stopped halfway when I noticed that Blue hadn't moved a single inch since he lied down. One of his paws was underneath his head, and his other was lying at his side. There was no way he would've been able to reach over to knock against the tree.

So then, what was making that noise?

_Thok, thok, thok..._

"Blue..." I whispered, "that's... that's not you... is it?"

My partner didn't respond. Instead, he pushed himself off the ground with his head turned toward the tree. His expression was steely, and his paws were clenched into fist.

"Fée... get behind me, _now._"

His voice sounded so intense and fierce that I felt a chill run down my spine. I didn't want to disobey such a direct command, so I scrambled back onto my feet and tiptoed behind my friend. He gave me a short nod, but he never deviated his sight from the tree.

"What's going on?" I whispered to him, "Did you sense something bad?"

"Yeah," Blue said with a low growl, "we're not alone."

I gulped. I flashed back to when we were running away from the Kabuto swarm back at the beach cave. Blue had said something similar then as well. I took a nervous step back, keeping my eyes peeled for anything dangerous that might spring out from the forest.

_Thok, thok, THOK...!_

Both Blue and I jumped at the sudden noise. It was the same echoing noise, but that last one... it was much louder than before!

"Blue...!" I began to say, but his paw shot across my face and interrupted me. He began to back away from the tree, taking me with him. His lips curled upward, revealing a set of fangs as he growled at the tree. My fur bristled when I saw him wearing such a scary expression. Nervously, I moved my gaze away from him and toward the sunbeam.

_Grrooooaaaa..._

The leaves on the tree began to shudder as a low, droning noise emanated from the trunk. A jolt of fear ran through my spine, sending a tingling sensation through my legs when I heard it. It didn't sound like a natural sound. In fact, it actually sounded like a voice...!

"Who's there?!" Blue demanded, holding up his fist toward the tree.

_Groaaaaaaaar..._

"S – show yourself...!" I stammered.

_Groaaaaaaaar!_

A loud, bestial roaring noise suddenly exploded out from the tree, forcing the two of us to clutch our ears in pain. My eyes widened as the old, ancient – looking tree had somehow uprooted itself out of the ground, and was now standing on its exposed roots. The rocks that had surrounded the base of the tree earlier were sent rolling away by its roots. A loud snapping noise rang out as two jagged lines appeared on the bark. The entire thing then began to tremble and growl.

"Get back, Fée!" Blue shouted at me. Seeing no reason to disagree, we both began to back away from the shuddering tree until we were a fair distance away.

The jagged lines on the tree's bark suddenly expanded into large cracks, separating the trunk into three sizable parts. Black, bubbling shadows filled in the space in between the cracks, while the long, gnarled branches at its side began to grow outward at a ridiculous speed.

"W – what is that thing?!" I shouted, horrified.

The tree bent low and raised up its stump. The many spindly roots that covered its bottom began to entangle and coil around each other, fusing themselves until there were only six, thick leg – like roots left. As it stood on its newly – formed legs, the tree's branches began to expand in size and girth. The bushel of leaves that tipped both branches began to shake as something large began to protrude out from underneath it.

_Groooooooaaar!_

Another ferocious roar exploded out from the tree, sending the leaves flying off its branches. I shielded myself as a wave of green pelted my face. When I opened my eyes again, I let out a shocked gasp. Two, massive pincer – like claws had replaced the bushel of dried leaves!

Another snapping noise rang out, and with it, a long crack appeared on the top section of the tree. Bark and wood chippings fell onto the dirt as the crack spread across in a crescent moon – like shape. Once the last piece fell off, the blackness underneath the tree's bark ebbed away to show a single, glowing red eye.

'Intruders of the forest...'

Blue and I jumped up out of surprise. An eerie, almost feminine – like voice had floated into the clearing. We both scanned around the area with our eyes and ears, trying to find the source of the voice.

'...there is nothing for you here... leave now, and never return...!'

"W – wait!" I ran up and shouted up into the air, "We can't leave, we need to find something important here!"

'...there is nothing for you here...!' A sudden gust of wind came blowing through the forest, making me flinch from the chilly air. Blue replied with an angry snarl as he ran up and threw his arms around me, sheltering me from the cold.

"P – please, listen to me!" I shouted through the raging wind, "We're not invaders, we're explorers! We're just here to find the PanaceaaAAAH!"

The wind intensified as soon as I mentioned the Panacea. I could hardly keep my footing in such a powerful gale. Even with Blue holding onto my body, it took all I had just to remain standing.

'Where did you hear that word...?!' The voice said in a furious tone, whipping up yet another gust of wind. 'There is nothing like that here! Forget your delusions of grandeur and begone! Oro, get rid of them!'

_Groaaaaaar!_ The frightening tree reared back and released a ferocious roar. Its single eye rolled around within the bark before finally coming to a stop on us. It stretched out its long, wooden arms to its side and began to extend and contract its claws.

Blue growled as he let go of my body. He put himself in between me and the beast, holding out his fists and bending low into a fighting pose.

'So... you wont retreat...' The voice spoke again, its tone icy and dripping with disgust, 'Then so be it. Your greed shall spell your end!'

In that instant, the tree launched itself toward us, scuttling at us at a ridiculous speed with its root – like legs. Its middle section rotated as it raised up its right arm, readying itself to attack us with its claw...!

"Too slow!" Blue shouted as he leapt forward and intercepted the claw with his right fist. A loud crashing noise, followed by a series of disturbing cracking sounds exploded out from the impact.

_Groaaaar!_ The tree cried out in shock, or maybe in pain, as Blue's fist pierced right through the center of its claw. With a deft flick of his wrist, Blue pulled his arm out and jumped away. He shook a few stray splinters and leaves off his fur while the tree continued to scream out in agony.

"You're not so tough," Blue said in a cocky tone as he got back into his fighting stance, "now come on. I'll show you just how strong this 'intruder' is!"

The beast howled in fury as it heard Blue's boast. Twitching, It held out its punctured arm to the side, giving me a good look at just how large of a hole Blue had made. All of a sudden, it halted its trembling and became still.

"What is it doing...?" I whispered to Blue.

He didn't even need to answer, as a loud crackling noise did the job for him. I watched in shock as large chunks of wood began to slide into place inside the hole, repairing the damage that Blue had caused.

My partner let out a low growl of discontent as we watched the tree heal itself. "That's a dirty trick," Blue grumbled, "but it doesn't matter." He bent down low and launched himself forward as soon as he finished speaking, "I'll just have to outpace your healing!"

He stamped the ground hard in front of the tree, kicking up several inches of dirt as he landed. Then, with the remaining momentum from his leap, he hurled his fist forward. I watched in anticipation for his heavy blow to connect and to send the tree flying.

…

...but, nothing happened.

There was no crash, no cracking noise or flying trees. Rather, there was only the sound of the wind being cut by Blue's powerful strike.

"Wha...?!" Both Blue and I had the same shocked expressions on our faces as the strange situation began to unfold.

The tree continued to stand tall, unharmed by Blue's punch. My partner stood there with his fist pointed at the ground, a stunned look on his face as he gaped at his arm. Did he miss? Or did the tree somehow managed to dodge his blow? What happened?!

_Groaaaar!_

Another loud roar snapped us out of our confusion. Right as Blue was beginning to recover from his failed attack, a wooden claw came barreling toward him.

"Blue!"

His head turned around just in time to see the tree's arm in front of him, just mere inches away from his muzzle.

"Gaaah!" Blue howled in pain as the tree slammed his claw into Blue's face. I watched, horrified, as my partner was sent sailing through the air like a rag doll.

"No!" Screaming out in horror, I chased after his flying body as fast as I could. Right before his head hit the ground, I leapt up and caught him with my paws. Cradling his crumpled form as we fell together, I shielded him from the fall and slammed into the ground.

"Urgh!" My back cried out in pain as we landed into the dirt. I quickly dismissed their screams of pain and let go of my friend. Blue coughed and rolled out of my grasp, holding onto his head with his paw.

"Are... are you alright, Blue?" I asked, patting him gingerly on the shoulder. He shook his head and coughed again. I let out a quiet yelp of shock as he left a small red stain on the grass.

"I'm... I'm alright," he replied, wiping the remaining red off his mouth. His eyes turned toward the tree as he bared his fangs, "but more importantly... did you see what happened?

"Y – yeah..." I averted my gaze from the grass and nodded hesitantly. At first, I couldn't believe my own eyes, but there was no fooling what I had seen. "Your... your fist just slid right through that thing's body...!"

"Guh..." Blue let out a frustrated growl as he struggled to push himself off the ground, "I didn't want to believe it..." He shook his head and slammed his fists into the ground, using the force from the blow to jump back onto his feet. As soon as he stabilized himself, he began to walk toward the tree again.

"W – wait, where are you going?!" I scrambled back onto my own feet, ignoring the screaming pain in my side, "You can't be thinking of fighting after what it did to you! You can't even hit it!"

He shook his head and lifted his paw. He pointed a finger at the tree's right claw, the claw where he had managed to punch a hole in before.

"It's not completely invincible," he said as he clenched his pointing paw into a fist, "if I managed to strike it once before, then I can do it again!"

"B – Blue, wait!"

My cry of caution was lost in the wind as Blue kicked off the ground, charging toward the enemy once more with his fists ready at his side. The tree released a furious roar in response and rotated its body around, its arms outstretched and its claws extended as if it was about to swat Blue away like a bug.

"Haaah!" Once more, Blue stopped himself at the base of the tree, swinging his fist forward at an insane speed. But, just like before, his fist only cut through the air as it passed through the tree's body as if it wasn't even there.

_Groooaaar! _The tree didn't waste any time in throwing its counterattack at my partner. The heavy claw came swooping down at him like a hammer aimed directly at his head. However, Blue was more prepared this time. As soon as the claw neared his face, he flattened himself against the ground, allowing the hammer – like blow to sail over him.

_Goaah?! _The tree sounded stunned as it was thrown off balance by whiffing its force – filled attack. Blue, on the other hand, sprung up from his lowered position with his fists drawn. With his left arm, he snagged onto the tree's hanging arm and with his right.

"Gotcha!" A smirk appeared on my partner's face. He lifted his other paw and sent it flying straight down.

_Craaaack!_

I cheered as the tree's heavy claw flew off its arm. It spun around in the air for a few seconds before striking the ground and embedding itself into the dirt. Blue quickly leapt off the branch and backed away from the stunned tree.

"So, your invincibility only extends to your body!" Blue shouted at it with a smirk on his face, "That's perfect. I just have to aim at everything around you then!"

The beast stared at its now – declawed arm for a moment. Its single eye had shrunken out of complete and utter surprise. Then, it began to shudder and tremble as its eye started to glow an ominous red color. It reared back its body and unleashed a horrifying, furious screech into the air.

_Gyeeeeeeeeeeeeee–!_

The sound was so loud, so frightening that It felt as thought my ears were going to explode if I continued to listen to it! I ducked down and covered my ears with my paws, trying to my hardest to block out the painful screech. Even Blue was forced to kneel and clutch the sides of his head with his paws.

–_eeeeeeeeeygh!_

Then, right as the scream ended, the tree's body straightened out and it held out its stumped arm. With a single shake of its arm, it began to reform its claw. Blue noticed this and quickly pushed himself off the ground.

"Oh no you don't!" He snarled as he rushed forward, intent on interrupting the tree's regrowth!

He drew his fist back and jumped at the tree's outstretched arm. With a yell of triumph, he struck his paw down in a chopping motion.

_Crack!_ The half – formed claw fell off again, courtesy of Blue's powerful blow. The tree reeled back, its eye spazzing about inside of its crescent – shaped hole. Blue took this opportunity to continue the attack, this time his target was the other arm!

"Haaah!" He struck out with his right arm, slamming it right into the tree's other claw. A huge chunk of wood flew into the air as Blue's blow made its mark, sending splinters and wood chippings scattering all around him. A cry of anguish emanated out of the tree as it lost its other arm to my partner.

Not to be done yet, Blue pulled his arm out of the tree and took a step back. He drew back both of his fists, readying himself for one big, two handed blow!

"Take this!" Blue shouted as he unleashed his final attack. Two powerful fists rocketed toward the tree's vulnerable arm. A nasty crackling noise exploded out from the impact as another massive chunk of wood was sent spiraling away into the air.

_Groa..rr... groaaaa...! _The tree let out a few weak growls of pain as it stumbled away on its root – like legs. Its branches looked like nothing more than little stubs now. It tripped over one of its own roots, falling onto its back and hitting the dirt, hard. As it laid on the ground, it wriggled its stubby arms in a feeble manner, desperate to try and get back up.

"Had enough?" Blue held up his fist as he walked toward the tree. The tree gave him a furious scream in response, making me flinch and cover my ears again. Blue, however, wasn't deterred by the noise and instead broke out into a run.

"Kuh..!?"

But, he didn't even get to take a single step. All of a sudden, his right leg gave out and he went sent tumbling onto the dirt. His face slammed into the grass as he slid across the clearing.

"Gaaaah!" Blue roared out in pain as he rolled over, clutching his right leg. His face contorted as he curled up on the grass, screaming in sheer agony.

"B – Blue!" I charged right on over, throwing myself onto the grass next to him. Without even needing to look, I knew for a fact that he had overextended himself too much this time! Crimson red was beginning to stain the fur on his right leg. His wounds must've opened up from all the running and jumping he was doing earlier!

"H – hang in there, I'll take care of you!" My paws were trembling as I fumbled with the clasp on my Explorer's Pack. He needed medical attention, now! But, as I finally managed to tear open the top of my pack, an earsplitting roar exploded from behind us.

_Gyeeeeeeaaaagh!_

The tree had recovered. I could only watch in horror as it began to encroach upon us, its arms regrown and its claws pointed right at my face.

"F – Fée..." Blue gasped out as he grasped my leg. He looked at me with a pained expression on his face. "R – run...! Run away...!"

He was telling me to abandon him, to leave him behind and save myself?! No! I wont! I can't!

"Shut up!" I screamed back at him. I threw my pack on the ground and shoved an Oran Berry into his paws, "I wont leave you behind!"

"Fé...Fée!"

Turning away from his stunned and angry face, I stood up and faced the angry tree beast. I curled up my lips and revealed to it my teeth. My fangs may not be as sharp as my partner's, but even then...! Even then...!

"I wont let you hurt my frieeeeeend!" I let out a bestial howl as I charged forward. As expected, my head and my body slipped right through the trunk as if there wasn't anything there at all. I skidded to a stop as I flew through to the other side. The tree rotated its three sections, turning its eye and arms around to face me.

"Like Blue said... your center is invincible," I muttered as I stared down my enemy, "but why...? Why are you invincible there...?"

My mind worked at a frantic pace, trying to figure out the reason behind the tree's invulnerability. A memory resurfaced within my head.

_Thok... thok..._

I remembered Blue knocking against the tree's trunk earlier... how did he do it? My eyes darted around the clearing, and my gaze fell upon one of the small rocks that had surrounded the tree earlier. He had rapped against the tree with the rock in his paw... does that mean the tree can be touched with the rock?

"Fée...! It's coming...!"

At Blue's warning, I snapped out of my thoughts just in time to see the tree swinging its claws at me. I ducked just like Blue did before, allowing the heavy claw to swipe at the air above my head. Taking this chance, I crawled away from the tree while it was recovering and scrambled over to one of the rocks.

It was just a simple, nondescript stone. Having been under the sun for so long, the surface of the rock had been bleached a shiny white. In a hurry, I opened my mouth and bit down on it. A sense of disgust rose up within my gut as my tongue tasted the dirt under the rock.

"What... what are you doing?!" I heard Blue gasp out in the distance. Ignoring him, I turned around and faced the tree with my teeth clenched down tight on the rock.

The tree was scuttling toward me with its rooty legs, its claws drawn back and ready to swipe at me. My jaw felt sore and pained as I held the heavy thing up in my mouth, but I couldn't let it distract me now! Steeling my resolve, I leaned my head back and spun around on the spot. Right as I faced the tree again, I released the rock and hurled it toward the charging beast.

_Thunk!_

It was a direct hit! The rock struck the tree right in its midsection, stopping its advance and making it double over from the blow. It released a shocked and hurt cry as its claws clutched its body. Its eye was spinning like mad. I pawed at my mouth, trying to brush away the dirt and soothe the aching feeling from biting down on the rock for so long. I felt the edges of my lips curl up into a smile.

This thing wasn't invincible at all! Even if we can't touch it with our paws or fists, we could still hurt it! Confidence and enthusiasm was beginning to build up inside of me as I ran over to the next rock on the ground. Picking it up, I turned my gaze back to the tree.

_Groaaaar!_ It released another furious roar and rushed at me, its claws swiping at the air. As I held on to the second rock, I waited for a moment this time before lobbing it. I took my time to aim my next attack, to get the rock through his claws and hit his body. I watched the movement of his arms and his claws, scanning and observing for the precise moment to unleash my attack...!

_There! _I spun around again and used the momentum to hurl the rock at the tree. The white stone spun as it sailed through the air. The tree noticed my missile and tried to knock it away with his claws, but I had thrown it higher than it expected. The stone went over his guard and collided squarely onto his top section, or more specifically, right in his glowing eye!

_Gyeeeeeeeegh!_

A loud, injured screech rang out as it doubled back. It stumbled around the clearing, swiping at the air with one of its claws while the other claws was held over its face. The rock had embedded itself within the opening on its 'face,' blinding it and hopefully hurting it at the same time.

Taking this chance, I rushed over to my partner, who was still lying on the ground trying to catch his breath. As I reached his body, I noticed that he had tried to take a bite out of the Oran Berry I left him earlier, but it didn't work. A chunk of berry was lying at his side, uneaten and covered in dirt. I took a quick glance at the tree. It was still rampaging around at the other side of the clearing, and still distracted.

Nodding, I took the Oran Berry out of Blue's paws and held it over his mouth. "Open up your mouth, I'll feed it to you."

He gave me a small nod and opened his mouth obediently. With a grunt of exertion, I squeezed the berry and let the juice dribble down my paw and into his open maw. He coughed and spluttered as he tried to down the healing salve, sending some of the blue – colored liquid splattering onto my face. Once the Oran Berry was drained, I threw it away and cradled the back of his head, helping him swallow the rest of the juice that was still in his mouth.

"Fée... are... are you alright...?" He struggled to say in between heavy gasps.

"That's something I should be asking!" I shot back at him, giving his head a hug. He was such a stubborn idiot! "You should be worried about yourself!"

"He...heh..." He let out a strained chuckle as he shook his head, brushing his muzzle against my ruff, "I... I'm fine... heh..."

"Idiot..." I couldn't help but grin at his how obstinate he was. Even though he was in so much pain, he was still trying to say these things...

_Groaaaar!_

I quickly turned my head away from my partner. The tree had managed to dislodge the rock from its eye socket and was now glaring at me with fury burning in its single eye. I gently let go of Blue and laid him onto the grass.

"Fée... don't... get hurt..."

I gave my partner a nod and faced the tree with a look of confidence on my face. I patted the ribbon on my right ear and took a deep breath. A white hot flame was burning within my chest. I felt courage course throughout my body like wildfire, making me feel stronger than ever.

"Believe in me!" I told Blue as I took a step forward, "I'm your partner... and I'll protect you!"


	22. I just think you two look pretty cute

**• ****  
Chapter 21:**

**"I just think you two look pretty cute.**"

A frown spread on Mismagius' face as the battle continued to rage on beneath her. The intruders were much more resilient than she had anticipated. It was unbelievable to her that Oro, her most trusted guardian of the forest, was being driven back by the efforts of one lone Eevee. Mismagius could only watch in frustration as the little brown Pokémon continued to dodge the Trevenant's desperate swipes while retaliating by hurling more rocks and stones.

Mismagius couldn't help but feel a little admiration for the Eevee's ingenuity. To think that the intruder would circumvent Oro's natural immunity to direct attacks by attacking him with rocks instead... it made Mismagius a little impressed.

However, no matter how smart or clever that Eevee was, she and her injured friend are still invaders of their sanctuary. Mismagius didn't know why they're here or how they knew about their forest, but such issues were of little concern to her. To Mismagius, her most important task was to protect the forest, and her precious daughter that lives within it.

But, as she watched Oro be driven back by the Eevee's onslaught, Mismagius began to feel a sense of worry and concern for her guardian. Despite his best efforts, it was becoming painfully obvious that he could not last much longer against the intruder's ferocity...

* * *

_Gyeeeeeh!_

Oro let out another pained screech as yet another heavy stone struck him in the midsection. The force from the blow sent him toppling backward, his root – like legs groaning and creaking from the strain of supporting his weight. The Trevenant swung his arms like windmills as he tried to regain his balance, but his efforts to right himself were wasted as another rock smashed into his face.

With a loud, rattling cry, Oro collapsed at the center of the clearing with a weighty thud. His arms laid at his sides, limp and unmoving. His single eye spun around in its wooden socket while his legs kicked feebly into the air. Dull pain ravaged the ancient tree as he stared up into the golden light. Scattered all around his fallen form were bits and pieces of his wooden body, as well as several of his snapped off claws, courtesy of that accursed Riolu. Even though Oro managed to incapacitate one of them, the other was fighting back with a furor that sent a chill through his body.

Frustration, anger and shame filled Oro's heart as he clawed the grass. He was the guardian of the forest, the sole protector of the wood...! How could he be defeated by a pair of brats like them?! He wont accept this outcome... he can't accept it!

Mustering what strength he had left within his decrepit body, the Trevenant unleashed an echoing howl into the sky. His right arm stretched up into the warm light, followed by his left. No matter what happens to him, he had to complete his duty. The forest was his home and his family! And he was their protector!

As he stared up into the sky, he saw a purple haze hovering just a few feet above the clearing. Oro's eye began to glow brighter as he realized that Mismagius must be watching his battle unfold from above them. Being aware of her presence granted even more untold strength. Mismagius, his beloved Mismagius...!

He couldn't give up. Not now, not ever...!

_Groaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!_

The Trevenant slammed his arms into the grass, sending dirt and leaves flying away. His body released a horrifying cracking noise as he contorted his body in order to get back onto his feet. Even more jagged cracks appeared on his trunk as he straightened himself back out. Pain shot through his body, flooding him with the desire to scream and cry out in agony. But he withstood it. For the sake of his caretaker, for the sake of his family!

"I can't believe it, he's still standing?!"

The little Eevee looked aghast as Oro staggered toward her. His single eye glowed with determination as he glared at the horrified Eevee. Her brown head was sweeping left and right in a mad attempt to find another rock to use as a projectile, but her luck had ran out. There were no more rocks anywhere close enough for her to just pick up and throw in such short notice.

Oro only had enough strength left for one more attack. The Eevee looked like she was about to run away and grab a faraway rock to throw at him. He cannot let that happen...!

_Gyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!_

"Eeek!"

He unleashed the loudest screech he could muster. The Eevee was stunned in the middle of her run, forcing her down onto the ground in order to clutch her ears to protect herself from the noise. This was his chance, he can't let it go to waste now!

_Groaaar!_

With a roar of triumph, Oro rushed forward on his six legs with both of his claws raised up into the air. The Eevee's eyes opened in fear as she saw the massive tree encroach upon her. There was no way she could escape the Trevenant's attack in time, not when he was already that close! She shut her eyes and covered her head with her paws.

"Fée!"

_Crack!_

All of a sudden Oro found himself wracked with awful, awful pain. He found himself flung away from the cowering Eevee, feeling much lighter than before. The Trevenant glanced down at his claws, or rather, the stumps where his claws once were. As he stumbled away, filled with agonizing pain, he saw that accursed Riolu standing in between him and the Eevee.

The Riolu was holding a paw against his chest as he gasped for breath. He could barely open his eyes, and his right leg was covered in red. In his other paw, he held something large, something familiar...

Oro let out a low growl as he recognized that object. It was one of his claws, one of his own wooden claws that the Riolu had snapped off earlier.

"B – Blue!" Fée cried out in a joyous voice, "Y – you're alright!"

"Stay behind... behind me...!" The Riolu – Blue – gasped out. His eyes were wincing and his stance was unsteady. He looked as though he could fall over at any time.

The Riolu glared back at the Trevenant with the massive wooden claw in his clutches. Despite his horrendous injuries, Blue's eyes were defiant and undaunted. Affected by the forceful presence the Riolu was emanating, Oro couldn't help but take a single step back, away from the Riolu's fierce gaze.

A strange sense of familiarity flooded the Trevenant's being as he watched the Riolu stalk ever closer to him. He was fighting for his friend, he was even willing to sacrifice his own well – being for the sake of protecting her. Even though he was injured, even though he was on the last breath before collapsing, he continued to fight. Even though they were enemies, Oro couldn't help but feel a grudging sense of respect for his opponent. That Riolu was fighting for the same reason as he was.

That last attack he made took everything he had, leaving him with nothing left. Oro had no claws, nor did he even have the strength to lift his arms. Even though his heart could still fight, his body couldn't respond in kind. His body slumped forward, ready to accept defeat as his eye began to dull in color. The last thing he saw before his vision faded was the sight of his opponent raising his own claw into the air...

* * *

_Fwoosh!_

All of a sudden, a gust of wind exploded in between Blue and the Trevenant. Blue let out a loud yell of surprise as he was sent tumbling away, dropping the claw and falling onto the grass. He groaned as he doubled over, clutching his right leg with a look of agony on his face. As the abrupt gale dissipated, it left behind something new and unexpected in their midst.

Standing in front of the fallen Trevenant now was a Pokémon covered in golden – yellow fur. She held out her arms to her side, separating the Riolu from Oro. Her eyes welled up with tears as she glared at Blue in defiance. She held a short twig in her right hand. Trembling, she pointed her weapon at the Riolu's face in a desperate attempt to threaten him. Brin opened and closed her mouth, but no words came out.

"Where... how..." Blue attempted to speak to Brin, but his words were cut short by an onslaught of painful coughs. He dropped to his knees, clutching his chest while gasping for air in an effort to alleviate his pain.

"Blue!" His partner rushed up to his side and threw her paws around him. Fée turned her head toward Brin, her eyes tearing up.

"Please, just let us go!" She pleaded at the Braixen, "He's badly injured, and he needs rest! We don't want to fight you!"

Brin's face was filled with uncertainty as she stared at the crying Eevee. At first, she had rushed out of hiding in order to protect Oro, but now, she didn't know what to do. Oro, on the other hand, couldn't even move. He tried to lift his broken arms in an attempt to cover Brin, but they just hung at his side, unmoving and lifeless.

"Please... we just want to find the Panacea..." Fée cried as she held her partner's trembling body, "We never meant to intrude or hurt anybody, we just wanted to find a cure!"

When the Eevee uttered the word 'Panacea,' Brin's eyes flew wide and she dropped her twig. She backed up against Oro's broken body, shocked at what the Eevee said. What did that Eevee know?! How did she know?! She shook her head left and right in a panic. She wanted to run away, to hide herself away from the two strangers. But she couldn't just abandon her friend! She clung against Oro's trunk, her eyes fearful and her body trembling as she watched the Eevee and the Riolu.

"...Eevee."

All of a sudden, a great mass of purple appeared above and in between the two injured parties, making the Eevee and the Braixen both look upward. Brin let out a short cry of joy as her mother's long cloak materialized into view, followed by her large, pointed hat. Mismagius floated down from the air and stared at the shivering brown and blue pair on the grass.

"Brin, stay behind me." She spoke in a commanding voice at the Braixen, who quickly nodded and ducked behind her mother's cloak.

"You... you're that voice from before...!" Fée said in a timid voice.

The Mismagius turned around and stared at the trembling pair with her head tilted up in a haughty manner. "That's correct. I was the one who warned you about intruding upon our sanctuary earlier." With a swish of her cloak, Mismagius covered her mouth and spoke in an ethereal voice, 'I am Mismagius, caretaker and guardian of the Forlorn Forest.'

The cloaked Pokémon pointed at the Eevee and the Riolu with a stern expression on her face, "You brought this misery upon yourselves by disregarding my warnings. If you had simply acquiesced to my request and left, then you could've avoided this."

"T – that's..." Fée stared back at the floating Pokémon and shook her head, "No... we can't leave. We couldn't! There was a reason we came here, and we couldn't just leave without fulfilling it!"

"...by reason, you mean you came to find the Panacea...?"

The Eevee nodded furiously, staring right at Mismagius. She held up her friend and gestured toward his right leg with her paw. As Mismagius looked down at the injured Riolu, her eyes widened at the sight of the horrendous scars present on his leg. Brin tried to peek past Mismagius to get a look as well, but Mismagius expanded her cloak and blocked her from seeing the terrible wounds.

"...that wound..." Mismagius murmured. She took a quick glance backward at Brin, who was staring up at her with a confused and expectant look on her face. Mismagius shook her head and covered her face with her cloak.

This wasn't the first time Mismagius had seen such a wound. A sense of deja vu washed over the cloaked Pokémon as she gazed down at the trembling pair on the ground. The sight of those two... it jarred a certain memory within the cloaked Pokémon. A similar situation, just like this, had happened here in the past.

Mismagius took another look at her daughter before releasing a deep sigh. A cold gust of wind flitted through the clearing, making Brin and the intruding pair shudder slightly. Mismagius returned her gaze to the Eevee and the Riolu, her head held up high and her eyes steely. Even though this situation gave her a sense of deja vu, there was no telling if these two are trustworthy or not.

"Eevee," Mismagius spoke in a low voice, making Fée jump with a start, "answer my question. From whom did you hear about the existence of this forest?"

"From whom...?" Fée echoed, looking a little uncertain. She glanced around the clearing for a moment, wearing a nervous expression on her face. Then, her eyes locked on to something brown in the distance. Carefully, she let go of her partner and laid him onto the grass before walking over to her dropped Explorer's Pack, with Mismagius watching her with a suspicious eye the whole time.

Fée pulled open the pack and rummaged around inside of it. She pulled out a single Oran Berry and put it inside her mouth. Then, she retrieved a torn and ragged – looking letter from the pack. Turning around, she trotted back to the group.

"Here, this is the letter we were given that told us about this forest," Fée said, holding the letter up in her paws. Mismagius hovered over and took the letter away with her cloak and began to read it. While Mismagius was busy mulling over the letter, Fée turned toward the ragged Blue and began to peel away the little Oran Berry for him.

"This handwriting..."

Mismagius' eyes widened as she recognized the delicate, fancy script on the letter. The long, swirling lines, the neatly written letters, and the faint scent of freshly – baked bread... there was little doubt in her mind. This letter was indeed the work of an old, beloved friend. A warm sense of nostalgia flooded her body, making her feel excited for an unexplainable reason. Mismagius held the letter close to her chest as her eyes slowly fluttered to a close.

Fond memories resurfaced within her heart as she reminisced about the days she had spent with her old friend back in the forest. Those were days of endless fun and bliss. Days that she wished could go on forever...

All of a sudden, Mismagius felt someone tugging at the hem of her cloak. Her eyes flew open in surprise and she gazed down. Brin was staring up at her, holding onto her cloak with a worried look on her face. Mismagius' cheeks deepened in color as she turned around and saw the Eevee and the Riolu both staring at her with curious looks on their faces.

"Ahem..." Mismagius quickly covered up her face with her cloak and cleared her throat, wiping away the faint blush on her face. She lowered herself and returned the letter to Fée, albeit a little reluctantly. She could only watch with yearning as the Eevee tucked the letter back inside her pack.

"Eevee... where did you get that letter...?" Mismagius asked in the most detached voice she could manage.

"A Pokémon by the name of Duskull handed it to us," Fée explained, "our Guildmaster told us to visit him for information about the Panacea, and he gave us the directions to this forest through that letter."

"Duskull..." Mismagius felt a pang of emotion inside her heart when she heard Fée utter that name, "I... I see..." She covered up her face again and turned away from the Eevee, "T – that would explain how you knew about the entrance into the forest... yes..."

Fée's head tilted to the side as she took in the Mismagius' odd reaction. Her curiosity began to grow as her mind began to connect the dots between Mismagius and Duskull.

"Mismagius...?" Fée took a step forward. "Do you... do you know Duskull, by any chance?"

Mismagius shook her head and turned around to face Fée again. To the Eevee's surprise, a small smile was present on the cloaked Pokémon's face. With a swish of her cloak, Mismagius conjured up a small gust of wind to blow through the clearing, filling the air with the sound of rusting leaves.

"I do," Mismagius said as the gale died down, "or rather, I did." Seeing the confusion on the Eevee's face, Mismagius shook her head and changed the subject. "Since he was the one who brought you here... I suppose that means he believes the two of you are deserving of my trust."

"You said the two of you are explorers, did you not?" Mismagius asked, pointing at Fée and Blue.

"Y – yes," Fée replied with a fervent nod of her head, "we're not intruders or invaders. We're just explorers from Wigglytuff's Guild, Mismagius."

"Wigglytuff's?" Mismagius echoed with a surprised expression on her face. She covered up her mouth with her cloak and mulled over Fée's words for a moment before giving the Eevee a little nod. "I see. That clears up the situation even more then."

"Huh?"

Mismagius shook her head and gave a light chuckle, surprising Fée and Brin. The Braixen looked up at her caretaker, wondering why she looked so cordial all of a sudden. Mismagius didn't answer, instead, she hovered past the confused Braixen and held her cloak against the unconscious Trevenant's body. The cloaked Pokémon closed her eyes and spoke in a soft voice.

"Oro, my dear guardian... take your rest. I have witnessed your bravery, and I'm proud of you. For now, sleep and regain your strength." She leaned her head against the fallen tree's body in an affectionate gesture. "Once you reawaken, return to the dwelling. I will make sure to tend to your wounds."

Although the Trevenant remained silent and unmoving, a slight rustling of leaves from the forest returned as Oro's reply. Mismagius gave a small nod and turned around to face the other three Pokémon.

"Brin," The Braixen jumped up with a start as Mismagius patted her on the shoulder with her cloak. She looked up, bewildered, and saw her mother looking at her with a small smile on her face. Mismagius leaned down and wiped away the tears on the Braixen's face and said, "Do not cry anymore, my dear. I have a task for you."

Brin tilted her head to the side, wondering what her mother wanted from her. Mismagius floated away from Brin and pointed at the Eevee and the Riolu in the distance.

"I want you to bring those two over to our abode."

Brin's mouth opened wide. It seemed like she wanted to scream, but no sound came from her mouth. She tugged at the hem of Mismagius' cloak, shaking her head left and right in a frantic attempt to try and dissuade her. Unfortunately, Mismagius replied with another amused chuckle and pulled her cloak away from the Braixen's hands

"It will be fine, my dear," Mismagius spoke with a certain amusement in her voice. Seeing that the Braixen wasn't convinced, Mismagius floated back down and wrapped her cloak around her daughter, pulling her into an affectionate embrace, "I'll still be watching over you, like always. So please, don't be afraid."

Brin shook her head while within her mother's hug. She looked up at Mismagius' face, her eyes full of worry and panic. Her expression screamed at Mismagius to don't leave and to please stay.

"I know you're worried, my little Brin," Mismagius stated once more as she let go of the Braixen, "but I would like you to experience something new, something without me around." Mismagius watched as Brin continued to shake her head and try to grab her cloak again. With a small sigh, Mismagius turned toward the explorer pair.

"Eevee," she said, making Fée jump with a start.

"W – what is it?" Fée replied, looking just as surprised and confused as Brin.

"You are searching for the Panacea, are you not?"

"That's right," Fée said with a nod.

"Then I would like you to take care of my daughter for me," Mismagius said as she gestured toward the trembling Brin. "I'd also like to add that..." Mismagius chuckled as she covered her mouth with her cloak, "...it would be in your best interests to keep her safe for the time being, mm?"

"E – eh?!" Fée glanced over to Brin, "You want us to take care of her?"

"Is that a problem, Eevee?" Mismagius asked, her eyes narrowing, "I'd like to remind you that Brin is my precious daughter. I will not be pleased if anything happens to her. You understand?"

Fée gulped and nodded.

"Good." Mismagius hovered further up into the air and spun around, releasing several wisps of purple mist out from under her cloak, "Brin will take you to our home. Once you arrive, we can discuss more about the Panacea. Farewell."

"H – hold on!"

Leaving more questions behind than answers, Mismagius released a low chuckle and vanished within a puff of purple mist. Fée, and Brin stood stock still in the middle of the clearing, gaping at the slowly dissipating fog in the air. With a startled cry, Brin ran toward the dissipating purple and tried to grab it with her hands. A despondent whimper escaped her lips as she saw the gas flit through her fingers.

"H – hey..." Fée tried to address the Braixen, "Are you alright?"

The Braixen turned around. As she saw the Eevee approaching her, she let out a muted squeak and rushed behind the sleeping Oro. She peeked out from behind the tree, her hands and face trembling out of fear and apprehension as she stared at Fée.

Fée took a nervous step backward, not wanting to startle the timid Braixen any more than she already had. As she backed up, a low chuckle rang out from behind her, startling Fée and making both girls turn their heads toward the sound. The laughter had come from Blue. He sat up from the ground and covered his mouth, stifling his chuckles.

"Blue!" Fée shouted out in relief. She rushed over to the Riolu's side and threw her paws around his neck, pulling him into a tight squeeze.

"G – gah, hold on Fée!" He choked, trying to push the enthusiastic Eevee away from him, "I'm not fully recovered ye – guh!"

"O – oh!" Fée made a little embarrassed yelp and let go of Blue, who leaned forward to try and catch his breath. After a moment of frantic panting, he shook his head and sighed.

"You need to learn your own strength, Fée," he scolded the Eevee in a playful tone of voice, "you're going to hurt someone with those hugs one day."

"I – I'm sorry," she replied, blushing a little. "I was just relieved that you're okay, Blue."

"Of course I'm alright," Blue smiled at his partner. He reached over and fluffed the fur on her head, "there's no need for you to worry. I'll be fine."

Fée frowned and shook her head, "I'll believe that when you're completely cured." She pulled her partner in for another hug, but gentler this time. "I'm just glad that you're safe, Blue."

"That's my line," Blue chuckled as he patted Fée's back, "you did pretty well out there, fighting off that tree on your own. I'm proud of you, Fée."

"O – oh, that was... I just kinda... well, I mean it was nothing, really..." Fée stammered, a little surprised at his praise. Despite her insistence, her tail began to wag left and right in delight.

"S – so, what were you laughing about?" Fée said as she sat down, trying to stop her tail. "What was so funny?"

Blue shrugged and turned his gaze over to the Braixen peeking out from behind the tree, "It's nothing, really." He pointed at Brin with his paw, startling her, "She just reminded me a little of you, Fée."

"Reminded you? How so?"

"It's the way you both run and hide behind things when you're scared or embarrassed," Blue remarked with a big smile, "I just think you two look pretty cute."

Both girls blushed bright pink at the Riolu's nonchalant remark. Fée's mouth hung wide open in shock while Brin covered up her face with her hands, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"What's the matter?" Blue looked confused as he stared at his partner and the yellow – furred Braixen, "Did I say something wrong?"

"B – Blue..." Fée shook her head as she nudged him in the side, "You... you really should learn to watch what you say..."

Blue frowned as he tilted his head to the side. He didn't quite understand what his partner meant by that.

* * *

After I had recovered from Blue's callous remark, I let out a deep sigh and shook my head. I closed my eyes and rubbed my face with my paws, trying to lower the rising temperature in my cheeks. I grumbled inwardly as I tried to forget what he just said. Why does he have such a knack for making me feel this way all the time? It's was so embarrassing... especially since he said it to that other Pokémon as well.

I shook my head again. I didn't want to dwell on what my partner said too much, otherwise all this heat on my face might make me evolve into a Flareon! I opened my eyes again and looked toward the sleeping tree Pokémon.

It felt so strange to me. Just a few moments ago, we were locked in a heated battle with each other. And now, it was snoozing away in peace just a few feet away from Blue and I. Though, I am glad that the fighting was stopped. My jaw still ached from biting and throwing all those rocks, and my muscles were begging me to give them some rest.

My eyes drifted over to the patch of yellow that was hiding behind the tree. It was another Pokémon that I've never seen before. I felt my mouth curl up into a small smile. Ever since I've become an explorer, it seems like I've been meeting all sorts of new and unknown Pokémon lately. Well, I suppose that's not really a bad thing, I mused.

"H – hey..." I took a cautious step toward the Pokémon, "your name... it's Brin, right?"

The Pokémon – Brin – peeked out from behind the tree and looked at me. Her eyes were a bright, vibrant orange. For some reason, it reminded me a little of Blue's eyes. Maybe it was because they were so similar in color, albeit hers was a little brighter in shade. I took another step forward, trying to close the distance between us.

She opened her mouth and made a quiet sound. I couldn't quite make out what she said, but it didn't seem like she was too bothered by my presence.

"Um... I'm sorry for what happened earlier," I said, glancing over to the sleeping tree, "it was all a big misunderstanding. We never meant to hurt your friend. Oro, was it?"

I bowed my head low in a show of apology. I didn't want Brin to continue thinking that we were her enemies. When I lifted up my head, I saw Brin continue to peek out at me from behind Oro. But I noticed that she was beginning to reveal more and more of herself. So maybe she was starting to trust me? I lifted up my paw at her – as slowly as I could so she wouldn't be startled – and put on a friendly smile.

"My name is Fée," I said, holding out my paw to her, "and that guy back there is called Blue. We're partners, exploration partners, that is."

Brin looked a little apprehensive at first. I watched as she stared at my paw, then at me, and then finally at Blue. Her face turned a little pink as she saw my partner. I sighed and shook my head. Maybe she was still affected by his careless remark from earlier.

"Don't worry about him," I said, drawing her attention away from him, "he's a little strange, but he's a nice guy."

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?"

"It's alright, we just want to be friends." I said to Brin, ignoring Blue's indignant remark. I gestured toward her with my outstretched paw, "I promise."

Another silent moment passed as she stared at my paw without speaking a word. Then, to my relief and delight, Brin nodded her head and began to move out from behind Oro, revealing her full body.

When I first saw her, my first thought was that she was pretty tall. Taller than Blue, even. Her fur was a very flattering shade of white and yellow, while her legs were colored a sleek black, just like Blue's. As she walked toward me, I noticed a large tail behind her, swaying left and right like the bristles of a broomstick.

I gave her a big smile when she finally stopped in front of me. I held up my paw a little higher for her. Although she still looked a little apprehensive, she eventually decided to extend her hand out to me. With my smile still on my face, I took her hand and shook it.

"It's nice to meet you, Brin." I said in a cheerful voice as I beamed at her. It made me a very happy to see her mouth curl up into a smile as well. I held her hand with both of my paws and shook it up and down with enthusiasm.

"You're going to pull her arm off, Fée." A blue paw rested itself on top of ours. I looked up and saw Blue grinning at Brin. He took her hand in his paw and shook it, "How's it going? I'm Blue."

Her face turned pink again as she looked up at my partner. She had a strange, anxious look on her face while she shook her head left and right. Her mouth continued to open and close frantically as she tried to pull her hand out of his grasp, but couldn't quite escape his firm grasp. Blue looked bewildered as she made pitiful noises at him.

"H – hey, calm down," Blue said in a confused voice, "I'm not going to hurt you or anything. I'm sorry I hurt your friend, if that's what you're worried abou – whoa, careful!"

All of a sudden, Brin's struggles bore fruit and she slipped out of Blue's hold. But, she had pulled so hard that when they separated, she lost her balance and fell backward. I cried out in surprise and tried to catch her.

"Gotcha!"

Blue reacted much faster than I had, to my surprise. My partner rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Brin's waist and stopped her from hitting the ground. I let out a sigh of relief as Blue pulled her back onto her feet.

"There, you alright?" Blue said, looking up at her with a concerned expression. Brin didn't reply. Instead, the pink spots on her cheeks had turned into a full – blown red blush.

At first, I didn't understand why she was blushing so hard, but as I looked down, I realized that Blue was still holding onto her, making sure she wasn't about to fall over again. The height difference between the two made it so that Blue's head only reached halfway up her body, so his muzzle was planted right in the middle of her belly.

I felt a little twinge of annoyance inside me somewhere when I saw that. Fuming a little for some reason I couldn't comprehend, I walked up and wedged my paws in between them. I pulled Blue's arms away from Brin and separated the two. Brin stumbled backward a few paces before rushing behind Oro again. Her face was a bright, glowing red as she peeked out at us. Meanwhile, Blue stared at me with a confused expression on his face.

"Th – that's enough of that," I stuttered as I averted my gaze from his face, "we should get going. W – we don't want to keep Mismagius waiting, do we?"

"What's the matter, Fée?" Blue asked, looking a little bewildered at me, "Your face looks a little red." He prodded me on the cheek with his paw, "What are you so angry about?"

"It's nothing! I'm fine!" My voice came out a lot louder than I intended. I saw Blue's eyes widen and Brin duck back behind Oro in fear. I cleared my throat and walked over to Blue and nudged him in the side. "C – come on, let's get moving..."

I saw Blue glance down at me, then he turned to look at Brin. With a loud sigh, he shrugged and placed his paw on my head.

"I just don't understand you sometimes," Blue chuckled as he fluffed the fur on my head again, "but alright. Let's get moving."

"Mmmh..." I grumbled as he took his paw off my head to head toward Brin. A strange emotion kept fumbling around inside my heart as I watched him convince her to come out from behind the tree. He held out his paw and took Brin's hand and gently coaxed her out of hiding. Her face was still a bright red, and she continued to avert her eyes from Blue.

"You know, the two of you are really similar." Blue commented as he let go of Brin's hand. He sniffed and shrugged his shoulders. "That red blush on both of your faces, it's pretty much identical."

Brin and I glanced at each other. A small smile cracked on my face as our eyes met. Blue was right, it was like looking in a mirror, in a way. Both of our faces, her white cheeks and my brown, were tinged with a shade of red. I giggled at this strange sight. Even Brin couldn't help but titter at how odd we looked.

"S – shut up," I mumbled at Blue. I hid my growing grin as I whapped him with my tail, "this is all your fault anyway..."

"Huh? What did I do?" Blue glanced at me with a curious look on his face. I shook my head and gave him a sharp slap on the paw with mine. This guy... he can be so oblivious at times. I could feel that odd, frustrating emotion from earlier fading away as I continued to giggle at my confused friend.

What was there to be annoyed about? Blue's Blue. Even if he could be a little bit silly, or frustrating, or even annoying, it's just how he is.

"It's nothing," I said with a lightened air. I walked over to Brin and held out my paw again, "I'm sorry about earlier. Do you mind taking us to Mismagius now?"

Brin shook her head with a smile. The red blush on her face was fading now, returning her cheeks back to its original white color. She took my paw in her hand and shook it. We stole a glance at Blue, who was still standing beside us and scratching his head in bewilderment. Together, we burst out in a fit of giggles at his silly expression.

"Now what?" Blue grumbled as he folded his arms, "What am I missing here?"

I walked up to my partner and threw my paws around him, giving him a big, reassuring hug. "It's nothing at all, Blue!"

* * *

Having Brin with us made traveling through the forest a much more interesting journey. Instead of taking the straight road Blue and I used, the yellow – white Pokémon lead us through the sea of trees itself, going through and around the massive tree trunks in a long, winding path. While it was a little difficult to step over the uneven soil and the long, thick roots, I couldn't help but look around in awe as the environment became more and more fascinating.

I kept glancing around the forest with wide eyes. Before, when we were still in the outer sections of the forest, the trees grew up tall and straight like gigantic towers. But now that we've entered a deeper, more ancient area, I've noticed that many trees began to grow in strange, odd ways. Many grew diagonally off the ground, criss – crossing with each other and forming large, angular arches overhead. Some of them had oddly bent trunks, curling themselves over our path or even around other trees. It was so strange and mysterious to me, and yet, I couldn't help but feel amazed and impressed by it.

By this point, we had entered an area so deep within the forest, there was no more sunlight coming down through the canopy. In fact, as I looked upward, I couldn't even see the canopy. Wooden tree trunks, coupled with a tangled web of spindly branches made up our ceiling. It blocked any light from reaching us down here within the belly of the wood.

However, despite being mired in the dark, we still had a source of light around us. Brin had somehow conjured up a small flame on the tip of a long twig, and we were using it as a torch to lead us through the darkness. Coupled with her flame, our path was also littered with the glowing mushrooms Blue and I found before. Another source of light was also available to us in the form of the dull, green moss that covered the tree trunks.

Brin showed us a neat little trick involving the moss. She raised up her hand to the moss and pressed against it. Within seconds, the moss expanded in size and began to radiate with a vibrant emerald light. Orange, blue and green lights danced around the three of us, illuminating the trees and our faces with a multitude of colors as we wandered deeper and deeper into the wood.

"This is so beautiful...!" I whispered as I watched Brin tap another patch of glowing moss. I was holding onto Blue's arm once again, helping him through the rough terrain as his crutch. I looked up at his face, and I saw his mouth hanging open at the wondrous sight around us.

"I've never seen anything like this before," I said as I tugged at Blue's arm, "this is... this is just so amazing!"

"Aren't you glad you became an explorer?" Blue remarked as he tweaked one of my ears, "I bet you'd never get to see anything like this back in town."

I giggled as I nodded in agreement with him. He was right. While I had spent years and years of my life living vicariously through the adventures of other explorers through the means of books and stories, there simply isn't a replacement for seeing something with your own eyes.

Feeling a little mischievous, I let go of Blue's arm for a moment and bounded up beside Brin, right before she was about to activate another patch of moss. I gave her a quick smile and held up my own paw in front of it. She caught the gist of what I meant and smile back at me as she put her hand down.

"Thanks!" I turned around and smiled at Blue, who had seated himself on a large tree root. Then, I turned around and gave the moss a hardy slap.

The green glow spread outward from my paw in a wave of green, bathing my fur in a beautiful emerald sheen. I laughed as I took a step back, watching the light travel up and spread its way across the entire tree trunk. It moved through the body of the tree and onto the branches above, casting its glow down at us from up above.

Then, it continued to spiral through the twisted branches overhead like a Spinarak moving across its web. Every patch of moss that the light touched began to glow as well, sending the light even further down the path. The three of us watched in awe as, within seconds, the entire forest around us began to shine like a radiant jewel.

"Hey, take a look at that!" I said, pointing my paw forward. At the end of our path, there was a bright orange – and – yellow glow in the distance. Brin made a happy noise as she clapped her hands together. She pointed ahead with her glowing twig, gesturing for us to head there.

"Looks like that's our destination," Blue said as I helped him back onto his feet, "it looks like a house of some kind, doesn't it?"

"Huh, now that you mention it..." I squinted my eyes and tried to get a better look at it. I could just barely make out the faint outline of something circular far away. Feeling a strain in my face, I shook my head and rubbed my eyes.

"Heh, you don't need to strain your eyes like that," Blue said as he poked me in the cheek, "we'll just get closer and get a better look that way."

I felt the temperature in my face rise from where he poked me. I looked up at Blue and nodded with a smile.

"Brin, can you take us there?" I asked our new friend. She nodded and gave an energetic wave with her twig before resuming our trek. Blue and I followed after her after a moment of getting used to walking with six legs again.

After a few minutes of travel, our destination came into sight. I let out a sharp gasp as it loomed out in front of us. We stood at the edge of a short cliff while a river filled with clear, sparkling water flowed on beneath us. A wide bridge made out of what appeared to be thick vines and roots stretched across the river. At the other side of the river was another cliff, a much taller one this time. But what made that cliff so breathtaking, was the gigantic log embedded inside of it.

It probably came from one of the monstrous trees that made up the forest. Something must've caused it to topple over, and slam straight into the cliff wall. As time passed, soil, rocks and other trees began to grow over the fallen log, reforming the part of the cliff that it destroyed. But, a section of the tree's trunk was still visible, it was the part that jutted out of the rock, after all. Huge, serpentine roots extended out of the circumference of what was originally the tree's stump.

What really made it amazing though, was that the huge tree was hollowed out from the center. A typical tree grows a large amount of rings within its body, which determines it age if it ever gets cut down. However, someone had taken those rings from this tree's trunk and fashioned them into a large cavern of some kind. The same orange and yellow lights we saw earlier illuminated the interior, revealing to us something strange inside.

Brin made a happy noise as she ran across the vine – like bridge. She held up her glowing twig into the air, waving it left and right as she sprinted toward the tree trunk cavern.

"Hey, hold on!" Blue shouted after her retreating back, but she didn't seem like she heard him. A few seconds later, she vanished into the tree trunk. Blue sighed and shrugged before turning to me, "Well, she's gone now. Shall we follow her?"

"I don't see why not!" I said with a giggle. Excitement was building up inside of me as I stared at the cave. Even though it looked a little frightening, I had to admit that I was more curious and interested in what was inside rather than scared. I gave Blue an enthusiastic nod before pulling him toward the vine bridge.

Tall lamps were set up on either side of the bridge, casting an orange glow over us as we walked across it. I took a look up into the air and – to my surprise – saw a thin sliver of light shining down from the sky. The cliff had separated the forest just enough so that a gap existed in between the leafy canopy above, allowing the sunlight to shine through.

Once we reached the other side of the river, we walked up to the mouth of the cave. Bright lamps were set up inside of the tree trunk, illuminating the walls with yellow – and – orange light. As we peered deeper inside, I saw something large and squarish just barely visible inside. I could hardly contain my curiosity as I tugged at Blue's arm.

"What do you think that could be?" I asked in a hushed voice, "It looks kinda like a wall to me."

"A wall?" Blue replied, "I guess we're of two minds. I thought the same thing."

"If it's a wall... then it could be a building inside!"

"Mismagius did say something about their 'abode' earlier. Do you think that could be their house?"

"Maybe!" I said as I held onto Blue's paw, trembling with excitement, "A house inside of a massive tree... that's incredible!"

"Hm, hm, hm... would you like to see it for yourselves?"

All of a sudden, an amused voice floated in between Blue and I, making the both of us jump up and turn around. There, floating in the center of the bridge was that cloaked Pokémon from before, Mismagius. She held her cloak over her face as she watched our surprised expressions.

"What's the use of standing outside in the cold?" She said as she floated past us, "Here children, follow me."

She conjured up a small, blue – colored flame in the air and used it to banish the remaining darkness inside of the tree trunk before hovering inside. Mismagius turned around and beckoned the two of us to enter as well with her cloak. Seeing no reason to refuse, Blue and I quickly trailed after Mismagius and her hovering ball of light.

Once we were inside, the identity of the strange thing we both saw became apparent. It looked like a house made out of wood, complete with a wooden door and even circular windows on the walls. Mismagius chuckled as she dismissed her blue flame and phased right through the wall, disregarding the door or the windows.

Blue and I, on the other hand, stood in front of the entrance. I held up my paw and knocked twice on the wooden door, even though I was pretty sure we were allowed to just go inside. It just felt right to knock on a door before entering. To my delight, the door opened up with a creaky noise. Brin stood on the other side, doorknob in her hand. She was staring at me with a confused expression on her face.

"Can we come inside?" I asked with a silly smile on my face. Brin looked at me, then looked up at Blue before giving us a slow nod. She moved away from the doorway, allowing us to enter.

Compared to the cool forest, this house was a wonderful and warm respite. Despite looking rather large from the outside, it felt very cozy now that I was inside. Pretty much every inch inside of the house was taken up with a piece or furniture or an object of some kind. Books, tables, chairs, and so on and so forth. There was even a large, black stove off the side of the room, resembling the same one that was inside of the Phantom Patisserie.

A crackling fire was burning inside of a pretty big fireplace at the far end of the house, basking the entire room in a warm, orange glow. I spotted a large, black pot bubbling away in the fire. The lid of the pot was clattering as the liquid inside was boiling, or so I assumed. Surrounding the fireplace were several large and fluffy – looking poufs, while a rickety rocking chair sat beside them.

Brin picked up one of the many books scattered on the floor and wandered over beside the fireplace. She plopped herself down on one of the large poufs and began to read. It piqued my interest. I wonder what kind of book she reads? I trotted over to the fireplace, making sure not to accidentally step on anything on the floor as I did so, and looked at the cover of her book.

"Aah!" I shouted out loud as I recognized the book. Brin's eyes opened wide as she jumped off the pouf with a start, the book flying out of her hands and into the air.

"Whoa!" Blue leaned over and caught the book before it landed inside of the fireplace. He sighed in relief as he held the black – covered book in his paw before handing it back to Brin. Blushing, I quickly mouthed an apology to Brin before pointing at the book.

"That's 'Dusknoir's Travels,' isn't it?" I said as I walked over to Brin's side. I peered at the page she was on and smiled, "It is! I recognize that chapter! It's the one where he defeats an entire horde of Sableye, all on his own!"

Brin gave me an enthusiastic nod as she pointed at the pages, then back at herself.

"You like his books too?" I said, understanding what her motion meant. "Same here! I love all of Dusknoir's books!" I pointed at the pages and said, "You know, back in Treasure Town – thats where I live, by the way – there's a library filled with all kinds of books. Including every single book that Dusknoir wrote!"

Her eyes widened as she clapped her hands together. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement as she pointed at the Explorer's Pack around my neck. A little confused, I sat down and took my bag off and opened it. As she peered inside, I saw her excitement fade as all she saw were the exploration tools I had inside. She picked up my length of rope and sighed.

"Oh... did you think I brought one of the books along?" I asked her, taking a wild guess. With a disappointed on her face, she handed me my rope back and I put it back inside my bag. I gave her a little lopsided grin as I shook my head, "Sorry, I don't think I'm allowed to bring library books outside of the town. Well, I wouldn't bring a book out with me on an expedition in the first place, but..."

Brin sighed again as she picked up her copy of 'Dusknoir's Travels.' I pulled up a pouf and sat beside her as she cracked the book open again. We began to read through the chapter about Sableye together.

"My, you two are getting along quite well."

Our heads turned away from the book as Mismagius appeared in front of the fireplace. The cloaked Pokémon let out a content sigh as she draped herself on top of the rocking chair. She smiled at the three of us as she rocked the chair back and forth, filling the building with the sound of dull creaking.

With a cheerful cry, Brin sat up from her pouf and walked toward Mismagius. She held her book in front of her chest as she stood in front of the rocking chair. I saw her mouth open and close in a silent conversation with Mismagius. She pointed a finger at me halfway through, making my ears pop up from curiosity. I wonder what they were talking about?

"Ho ho... I see... So that's why you're so excited all of a sudden, my dear." Mismagius held Brin's hand with her cloak and smiled at her, "Does that mean you wish to see it? There is no shame in asking her, you know."

I tilted my head to the side in confusion. It seemed like they were talking about me, but only hearing one half of the conversation made it a little difficult for me to understand what it was about. Brin shook her head and showed Mismagius the book in her other hand.

"My, that's a little selfish, wouldn't you say?" Mismagius tapped Brin on the nose with her cloak and chuckled, "But if you wish, then I shall ask her for you."

Mismagius levitated herself off the rocking chair and floated toward Blue and I. Brin followed after her, peeking out at us from behind Mismagius' cloak.

"Eevee," Mismagius said as she held out her cloak toward me, "my daughter has a little favor she would like to ask of you."

"Oh, you can call me Fée," I said, giving her a quick bow of my head. I gestured toward my partner and added, "and his name is Blue."

"Fée... Blue..." Mismagius covered her mouth with her cloak as she mulled over our names, "Quite unique names. I rather like them, don't you worry."

"So... what is this favor she wants?" I glanced over at Brin, who was eying me shyly.

Mismagius shook her head and let out a laugh. "You've quite impressed her with your description of that library at... what was it again...? Treasure Town?"

"Yes it is," I said with a quick nod, "does she want to visit it or something?"

Brin's eyes widened and she shook her head before ducking behind Mismagius' cloak. Mismagius sighed and frowned.

"No, sadly, that isn't what she wants," she said with disappointment in her voice, "rather, my daughter would like it if you could possibly bring her a book or two from that library." Mismagius spread out her cloak, directing my attention toward the mess that permeated the house.

"As you can see, I have no shortage of books around here in this house. However, most of these books aren't to my daughter's liking, as they're all recipe books and old this – or – thats that only an old Pokémon like me would enjoy."

"Hm?" I raised up my head as a thought flew through my mind. I pointed at the copy of 'Dusknoir's Travels' in Brin's hand and asked, "Then, how did you get a copy of that book? I remember it's pretty expensive back at Treasure Town."

"It was a gift," Mismagius answered, taking the book from Brin's hands, "a certain explorer pair that visited this forest before you two had this book in their packs. They saw how interested Brin was with it, and gave it to her."

"An explorer pair...?"

"Never you mind about them," Mismagius said, waving away my question with a sweep of her cloak, "back to her request... can you fulfill it?"

"Um..." With an apologetic look, I shook my head and said, "I'm sorry, but I can't."

A crestfallen look appeared on Brin's face as she heard me say that.

"Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't want to," I quickly added, "but rather, I can't. I've already told Brin that Mr. Mime wont allow anyone to bring his books outside of the town. And copies of Dusknoir's books are incredibly expensive back home. If I could buy a copy for you, Brin, I really would! I'm sorry..."

"I see, well..." She turned toward Brin, who looked despondent at the news. Mismagius wrapped her cloak around Brin and said, "Don't be sad, my dear. You know, there's always another way for you to read those books you love so much."

Brin looked up at Mismagius with wide eyes. She shook her head and threw her arms around the cloaked Pokémon. Mismagius sighed and patted Brin's back as she turned her head toward Blue and I.

"I suppose it was worth asking," she said with a small smile, "don't worry too much about it, Fée. I should thank you for indulging her selfish desires."

Mismagius gave Brin a little pat on the head before pulling away from her. Brin sighed as she sat down on a pouf, hugging that single book in her arms. I felt a little bad for refusing her request, but as of now, it simply wasn't possible for me.

"Say, Fée," Blue mumbled into my ear, "how much do those books cost?"

I looked at him with a questioning eye, "Why do you want to know?"

"Just curious, that's all."

"Um... well," I screwed up my face as I tried to remember, "the last time I checked at Kecleon's, the latest novel was going for over 6,000 Poké..."

"Is that a lot?" Blue commented, rubbing his chin.

"It's a lot more money than I've ever seen in my entire life, if that puts it into perspective for you."

"Hm..." He turned away and began to mumble something to himself. I couldn't quite hear it over the crackling of the fire, but I figured it probably wasn't important. After all, I can't really imagine Blue having a lot of money, considering his circumstances.

"Fée, Blue," all of a sudden, Mismagius called our attention toward her. She was hovering in front of the fireplace, blocking the glow of the fire with her cloak, "I believe you two have something you wish to ask of me, did you not?"

That's right. That was the entire reason we came to the forest, of course. I glanced over to Blue's leg, and nodded to myself. This was it, this was our goal.

"Mismagius," I said in a slow, steady voice, "we would like to know more about the Panacea."

A crooked smile appeared on Mismagius' face. This, coupled with the dim glow that was emanating from the fire behind her, gave her a rather spooky appearance. She began to cackle in a low pitched tone, making my fur stand up from how eerie it sounded.

"Little Fée..." She said all of a sudden, making me jump up with a start, "I have a question for you."

"Y – yes...?" I said, trembling a little from her sudden shift in demeanor.

"Hee heee..." Mismagius made another low pitched cackle as she held her cloak toward me, "this is an important question. I would like you to use your imagination to answer it for me." She covered her face with her cloak and spoke in that echoing, transparent voice she used to address us back in the clearing.

'Very well... Then answer this: What do you think the Panacea is?'


End file.
